Waking Up In NOLA
by Sophie Myst
Summary: Sookie has a rude awakening in New Orleans. Non-canon. Rated M just in case.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Haven't forgotten about any of the other projects I've got on the table (and there are at least 2-3 others, eek). This just popped up in my brain the other day and kinda took over. Already have a few chapters waiting in the wings, but no idea where this is going long-term. It'll be like a surprise, even for me!

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**Sookie POV**

I woke up feeling like someone had set my throat on fire. I had never been so thirsty in all of my life. I must have set a new personal record for drunkenness last night. I couldn't remember much of anything just yet, but it was the only thing that could explain my current state.

The more I woke up, the more I realized I had no idea where I was. I could see well enough, regardless of the lack of light in the room. It was clearly a hotel room; I could smell all of the people who had been here before more. Ugh. Perhaps it was an after-effect of the alcohol that had made my nose so sensitive.

I reached over to the night stand to turn on the light, and almost knocked over the bottles that were perched there. Had I been drinking alone in this room? How depressing.

Once the light was on, I noticed that those weren't just any bottles: they were synthetic blood. True Blood, to be precise. Also on the night stand was a piece of paper; I picked it up and saw that someone had left a note: _I'm sorry. There was no other way._

Well, _that_ just made no sense whatsoever. I didn't recognize the handwriting; it wasn't mine, and it wasn't Tara's. For that matter, where the heck _was_ Tara?

I tried to remember what we'd been doing last night. We'd driven down to New Orleans to have a girl's weekend together. If I'd known how much drinking was involved, I would have said no. We'd gone bar-hopping, and each place we went to was more and more of a blur in my mind.

I wanted to call her, but this thirst was getting worse by the second. I walked into the bathroom and got a cup from the plastic bag that the hotel had put them in. After filling it with water, I took a huge gulp and promptly retched it all back up.

That wasn't good, not at all. Did I really drink enough to get alcohol poisoning? That would certainly explain why I couldn't remember anything, and why I felt so disoriented.

I looked up at my reflection in the mirror. My skin was several shades lighter than it had been the night before. If I was that pale and couldn't keep anything down, maybe a trip to the hospital was in order. I frowned at myself and was confused at how strange that felt. I opened my mouth and leaned closer to the mirror to see what…

Okay, last I checked, spontaneous fang growth was _not_ a symptom of alcohol poisoning.

I felt panicked, and normally that should have sent my pulse racing. Instead, there was a curious calm feeling to my body. Calm other than that damn thirst.

This was bad. This was very, very bad. What the _hell_ happened last night?

I sat back down on the bed and eyed those bottles of blood like we were having a staring contest. The thirst was almost unbearable now.

I grabbed a bottle, uncapped it, and started chugging away before I could stop to think about what I was doing. Sweet Jesus, it was so disgusting. It did help with the ache in my throat, but only barely. One by one, I went through those bottles until they were all empty.

It wasn't until I was done with them that I read on the label that you were supposed to heat them up. I guess that made sense. And oh look, there was even a microwave in the room. I could only hope they weren't so gross when they were at body temperature.

I wasn't going to get anywhere just sitting in this strange hotel room. I needed to call Tara. But I needed to know where the hell I even was. Duh, the note: it was written on hotel stationery. Apparently I was at The Inn on Bourbon.

I picked up the phone and dialed Tara's cell phone. She answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Tara, it's Sookie…"

"Oh my God, where did you go? Are you okay? Where are you?" she sounded frantic.

"Um, I'm at the Inn on Bourbon hotel." I rubbed my face. I didn't think I was okay, and I had no idea how to tell her I was a vampire now. Even with all of the evidence, it still felt like a bad dream to me.

"You gave me such a scare, disappearing like that. Tell me you at least got lucky."

I snorted. "Shoot, Tara. I don't remember what happened. But something definitely did happen."

"Do _not_ tell me someone drugged you. Shit, girl…"

"Worse, if you can believe that."

There was a moment while she considered that. "Worse? Sookie, talk to me."

"I woke up thirsty. Like, for blood. And I have fangs now."

"You _what_? You're joking, right?"

"Right, because this is something I'd joke about."

"You… you're serious."

I sighed. "As serious as the heart attack I'll never have."

She was silent. I held my breath until I realized I didn't need to breathe anymore. I was terrified that she'd hate me or be scared of me. Hell, I was scared of me. I had no idea what I'd be like when I left this room. I'd read enough news reports of new vampires going crazy with blood lust.

How was I going to tell Gran? Or Jason? I didn't think Gran would hate me now, but I couldn't imagine my older brother taking this too well. Could I even go home at all? Was there some super secret vampire hotline I could call? Where could I go for help? Who had done this to me? There were too many unanswered questions here.

All I wanted to do was go home. No, scratch that. I wanted to go back in time and have never come to New Orleans. I'd settle for waking up and finding out that this was just a bad dream.

"Tara, we need to go back to Bon Temps. I can't stay here."

"Are you… is it safe?"

I sighed. "I don't know. I woke up alone in this hotel room with a note and four bottles of blood. I drank them all and I feel better. But I haven't seen anyone yet."

We went over some options. She thought it would be best if she came to my hotel room alone, to see if I would go nuts in her direction. She had some silver jewelry, and would stop by a store to pick up some garlic as well. There wasn't much in the news about vampire weaknesses, but she'd read somewhere that vampires couldn't tolerate silver or garlic. It was worth a shot.

After we hung up, I dialed down to the front desk. They were a bit reluctant to tell me who the room was registered to, but eventually I got a name out of them: John Smith. Super. That was _so_ incredibly unhelpful.

An hour later, there was a knock on my door. I could smell that it was Tara, which really freaked me out. I went to the furthest corner of the room and shouted, "It's open!"

Tara came in slowly, holding a garlic-laden cross in one hand and a four-pack of Red Stuff in the other. She had no less than three silver necklaces around her throat. In any other circumstances, it might have been funny.

"Oh man, that stuff really reeks!" I said, covering my nose. "But I'm not bursting into flame or anything, so that's good."

We stood at opposite ends of the room and stared at each other. I could hear her heartbeat from where I was standing. I could smell the blood under her skin. I closed my eyes and realized I didn't have the urge to attack her.

"I think we're in the clear," I said.

"You sure?" Tara asked.

"As sure as I'm gonna get. Let's get out of this damn city."

Tara had already packed our bags from the hotel room we'd gotten last night, so the car was all ready to go. I didn't bother checking out of this hotel room, since it wasn't registered in my name. Let someone else figure out that mess; my hands were already full with my own problems.

Once we were back on the road, we started going over my options. It was only Saturday, and Gran wouldn't be expecting me back until tomorrow afternoon. I wasn't scheduled to work at Merlotte's until Monday, but I had the lunch shift. That was going to be a problem.

"The first thing we need to do is figure out where I'm going to be staying. I can't go back home until I know for certain that I won't attack Gran."

Tara thought about it for a moment. "There's a vampire-friendly hotel in Shreveport. And there's that vampire bar I heard about. Maybe someone there could help you out?"

"The hotel sounds like a good option. I've heard that bar was kinda freaky, though."

She laughed. "Girl, _you're_ kinda freaky, now."

I glared at her. "Thanks a lot, Tara."

The brief bit of anger that flared up in me made me thirsty. That was bad. I grabbed a bottle of the Red Stuff and started drinking.

"Holy crap, this stuff is _horrible_!" It took the edge off, but I was not looking forward to the next three bottles.

She laughed. "It's blood, what did you expect?"

"I know, but it's even worse than that True Blood stuff. That was bad, but this is just vile." I shuddered.

Everything hit me all at once, and I started bawling. Not in that quiet, _silent tears running down my cheeks_ kind of way; this was in that awful, _sobbing hard enough to shake the car_ kind of way. It only got worse when I pulled my hands from my face and found them covered in blood. That was all I needed: bloody tears. I guess that came with the new territory I found myself in.

Tara pulled the car over to the shoulder of the highway and dug up some napkins. She tried to console me, but she did it at arm's length. I could tell she was scared to get too close; that just made me cry harder.

I shook my head. "Just drive, Tara."

She cursed under her breath and apologized to me as she got back onto the highway. Eventually I stopped crying, but it was still an uncomfortable drive; neither of us knew what to say. I was almost relieved when I realized I could still hear her thoughts. All of my life, I'd thought of my telepathy as a curse. Now I was glad for it: it meant that on some level, I was still _me_.

She was blaming herself. She thought it was all her fault that this happened to me. She remembered last night better than I did: she'd gone off with a handsome man with beautiful eyes, and she'd thought his friend would be a good date for me. Her mind felt different to me, now. There was a strange blank spot there, something I'd never encountered before.

Several very awkward hours (and three disgusting bottles of Red Stuff) later, we were at the hotel in Shreveport. Tara offered to stay with me, even though I could tell she didn't want to. I declined, and even though I knew she didn't want to stay, it still hurt when she didn't protest. I told her I'd call her in a night or two, and she promised she wouldn't tell anyone what had happened.

The hotel turned out to be more expensive than I'd hoped. I had enough money to cover a few nights, but after that I'd be up poop creek without a paddle.

My room was small, but it was light-proof and had a bed. That was all I cared about. The clock in the room told me that it was only 1am. Since it was already fall, the nights were getting longer. I had another five or six hours until I'd be dead for the day. Sighing, I realized I might as well get this ball rolling. As much as I wanted to put off thinking about this until tomorrow, it felt like time was working against me.

There was a phone book in the room, but I couldn't remember the name of that vampire bar that Tara had mentioned. I called the front desk, and not only did they know the name, they told me that Fangtasia was open until an hour before sunrise. I got directions, and found that it was within easy walking distance.

I had no idea what to wear to a place like Fangtasia, but my options were limited to what I'd brought for the weekend trip to New Orleans. Tara had ribbed me about my choice of dresses, saying that they looked like I was going to church instead of a bar. She'd loaned me a dress for last night, but it stank of alcohol and cigarette smoke.

For that matter, I looked a hot mess. I took what I'd intended to be a quick shower, but the feel of the water hitting my skin was almost hypnotic. All of my senses were stronger than what they had been, and apparently touch was no different. By the time I dried my hair and gotten dressed, almost two hours had passed. That meant I only had about three hours until pumpkin time.

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Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: WOW. I had no idea this story would hit it off so well. You guys totally rocked my socks with your review love. Let's just hope I can keep up the awesome. *crosses fingers*

Forgot to mention it in the first chapter's note - this was at least partially inspired the the song "Waking Up In Vegas" by Katy Perry. I was going to enter it into the **I_Write_The_Songs** contest, but realized it would be WAY too long to fit under the 12k mark. Still, it's shaping up to be an awesome contest, and I highly encourage all of you wonderful readers and writers to enter!

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**Sookie POV**

The walk from the hotel to Fangtasia wasn't all that bad. I was surprised that the high heels I was wearing didn't hurt my feet in the slightest. They'd been pretty painful last time I'd worn them. Maybe this was a perk of my new state? It may have only been a minor point, but it was nice to find something that didn't suck about being a vampire.

As late in the evening as it was, there was still a line to get into Fangtasia. I groaned to myself when I saw the sorts of people who were waiting to get in. It disturbed me when I realized that I _knew_ they were all human, but there was also the fact that they were all dressed in black. I looked down at my white dress with red flowers and sighed at just how much I was going to stand out. At least I didn't currently feel any strong compulsion to chomp on their necks.

I got in line and started to really get nervous when I saw the woman at the door staring at me. Not only was she staring, she was _glowing_. Just as I'd known everyone else here was human, I knew she was a vampire. She was also wearing all black, but I could tell that her outfit was more expensive. She lifted her hand and beckoned to me.

Taking a deep breath, I walked over to her.

"I've never seen you before," she said. "Are you new to the area, or just passing through?"

"Um, I've never been here before."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, we've already covered that. What is your purpose in this area?"

I gulped. I had no idea how to answer. She narrowed her eyes at me. "I think you need to come with me."

With that, she turned and walked inside. I followed; the minute I stepped inside, I was overwhelmed by the people inside. There were so many people here, and they all smelled like blood. It was delicious and horrifying. I couldn't help but gasp as my fangs ran out and cut my lower lip.

The woman from the door spun around and looked at me. "You really are _new_, aren't you? Where's your maker?"

"Maker?" I asked.

"Oh, you have _got_ to be shitting me." She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me through the club. We moved so quickly, everything was a blur. We stopped in a hallway, where she opened a door and shoved me inside.

"Wait here." Without another word, she closed the door behind her.

_Not like I had much choice_, I thought.

At least I didn't have to wait long. Less than a minute later, the door opened and the woman walked back in with the biggest man I'd ever seen. He was wearing black leather pants and a matching vest, with no shirt underneath. He had long blond hair that was almost the exact color as my own, but his eyes were an amazing shade of blue I'd never seen before.

I felt like I should apologize for ogling him, but he was doing the exact same thing to me. The woman just rolled her eyes at us, something she seemed to be fond of doing.

Not knowing what else to do, I held out my hand and said, "Hi, I'm Sookie Stackhouse."

They looked at my hand like I was offering them a dead bird. Nervously, I let it drop back to my side. I guess vampires don't _do _handshakes.

"Please have a seat, Miss Stackhouse," the man said. Wow, even his voice was sexy.

I sat down in one of the two chairs that were in front of a huge desk. The man sat behind the desk and started shuffling through some papers.

"I am Eric Northman, Sheriff of Area Five. Are you going to be staying in my area long?" Sheriff? Area Five? Oh boy, if I thought I was in over my head before, that was nothing compared to how overwhelmed I felt at that moment.

"Uh, maybe? I don't know."

He raised an eyebrow and sat back. "Why are you here?"

"I didn't know where else to go."

"Listen, blondie," the woman said impatiently, "We don't have all night."

"Okay. So my friend and I went down to New Orleans for the weekend, and I woke up like this. I have no idea how it happened. I don't know where to go. I don't know what to do. I…" I burst into tears.

The woman cursed, and I guessed it was her who stuffed some paper towels into my hand. I couldn't see though all the red tears. I tried my best to clean my face and stop crying.

"You don't know who your maker is?" Eric asked.

I shook my head. "I woke up alone in a hotel room. The room was registered to a John Smith."

He looked angry; I hoped it wasn't at me. He didn't look like someone you wanted to piss off. I tried to read his mind and was confused to find that I couldn't. His head was a complete blank to me. I'd been able to read Tara just fine, but I couldn't read the woman's mind either. I couldn't decide how I felt about that, but decided it was the least of my worries at that moment.

Eric growled and started filling out some paperwork. "We'll need to register you as a new vampire and get you your new identification cards. Where do you live?"

"Well, normally I live with my Gran in Bon Temps…"

He interrupted me. "Have you gone back there already?"

I shook my head. "No, she doesn't even know what happened yet. I'm staying at a hotel nearby."

"Alone?"

"Yes. My friend dropped me off there."

"Not anymore. You're too young to be left alone."

I fumed. "Young? I'm twenty-five years old."

He smirked. "As far as I'm concerned, you were born tonight. That makes you _too young_. You need someone to train you in our ways." He looked at the woman. "Pam?"

She folded her arms and glared at him. "Not unless you make me. I don't have time for newborn brats."

"Shouldn't I have some say in this?" I asked, even though I was glad this Pam hadn't agreed to it.

"No," Eric growled. "And the fact that you just asked me is proof enough. Pam, hand me her purse."

"Hey!" I shouted as my purse all but disappeared from my hands. She'd moved too quickly for me to even see her take it.

Eric opened my purse, got out my driver's license, and started copying down some of the information from it. When he was done, he put it back in the bag, which he left on his desk.

I was starting to regret coming here. Why hadn't I asked the hotel concierge if there was someone there who would help me? But if this Eric guy was a sheriff of some sort, perhaps they would have sent me here anyway. Ugh. I didn't think I could make it on my own in this mess. As horrible as it felt, I had to admit to myself that I did need their help. But did they have to be so rude about it?

"How did you know to come here?" he asked, breaking me out of my train of thought.

"Pardon?"

"Who told you that you had to come here to register yourself?"

"No one told me anything," I said. "I didn't want to stay in New Orleans after what happened, and this was the only vampire place I'd ever heard about."

"Have you fed already?"

"There was some True Blood in the hotel room where I woke up. I drank those, and I had some Red Stuff on the drive." I wrinkled my nose as I remembered how awful they'd both tasted.

He laughed at the face I'd made. Lord, I would make any face he wanted if only he'd laugh like that again. It was a rich, throaty sound that I wouldn't mind getting lost in. I found myself staring at his neck. My fangs ached, and I brought my hand up to my mouth out of embarrassment. The wide range of emotions he provoked in me was dizzying, and more than a little uncomfortable.

Pam snickered at me. Ordinarily I would have blushed, but my cheeks didn't feel hot as they should have. Maybe vampires don't blush. Hell, there was so much I didn't know about myself now; I didn't even know where to begin.

"Pam, you're going to close up shop here. I'm going to get our new friend settled." He stood up and walked over to a closet I hadn't noticed before.

Pam was feeding papers into a fax machine. "You're taking her?"

"For tonight, at least," he answered. "We'll have to find out if someone in New Orleans is going to claim her, but that could take a few nights."

To my shock, Eric went over to a closet and started getting undressed right in front of me. Bye-bye, vest. Farewell, pants. Adios, under… oh. Whoa. There was no underwear to bid adieu. _Hello_, gorgeous white ass. Good lord. He looked over his shoulder at me and smirked as he pulled on a pair of jeans. Too soon for my liking, his back disappeared under a green t-shirt.

I hadn't known it was possible for my new dental hardware to itch.

I hadn't ever given thought to what vampires might wear, but if I had, I certainly wouldn't have put flip-flops on that list.

Eric walked to the door and looked at me. "Come with me."

Knowing that I'd probably follow that ass directly into hell itself, I stood up and went with him as we walked out the club through the back. He led me over to a red Corvette and opened the passenger door. I got in as carefully as I could. He might have no problems flashing me, but I was still a lady, vampire or not.

Our first stop was the hotel where I'd been staying. Eric told me that we were just there to get my stuff and check me out. On our way up to the room, I tried to argue that I had already paid for it, so I might as well stay there.

"You are a newborn," he said impatiently. "This means that when your hunger hits, it is going to hit hard and it is going to hit fast. New vampires usually stay with their maker for several _years_ before they are allowed to be on their own. If I were to leave you alone, you would be a danger to the humans around you."

I cringed at that. I'd spent my entire life trying to carefully control my telepathy so that I didn't hurt the people around me. Now I was being told that I could cause actual physical harm because I wouldn't be _able_ to control myself. Tears were threatening to break free again, but crying was the last thing I wanted to do. It was just so gross, and I didn't even have to worry about snot bubbles anymore.

Eric was less than impressed at my single bag of clothing. "You were going to be gone for a weekend, and that was all you brought?"

I blinked. "What? There are three outfits in here."

He sighed and got out a cell phone. He didn't call anyone, but I guessed he was sending a text message. The phone beeped almost immediately, and he snickered.

"You'll have some new clothes soon."

"That's really not necessary," I said, exasperated.

He shrugged and grinned at me. "I have no objections if you prefer to walk around naked."

I snorted. "In your dreams, buster."

Suddenly I found myself against a wall with my feet dangling off the floor. Eric was holding me up by my throat, and he didn't look amused.

"First of all, vampires do not dream. Secondly, we need to work on your manners. I am very much your elder, and you will address me as such. Are we entirely clear on that?"

Gulping wasn't possible with the grip he had on my neck. "Yes, sir."

He leaned in closer until his face was almost touching mine. I hoped he didn't think I was going to kiss him now. To my relief and confusion, he seemed more interested in sniffing me.

"What were you, before tonight?" he asked.

Huh? "I was a waitress, sir."

"No. You smell of more than vampire. What _were_ you?"

I didn't know how to answer that. I wished I could read his mind to figure out what on earth he was talking about. Or perhaps that's what he meant?

"I was a telepath, sir." I hoped that was the right answer.

He bared his fangs and hissed at me. "Tell me you have not been reading my mind."

"No, I can't hear you at all. I don't know why. I could hear my friend just fine, but not you. I couldn't hear Pam either."

He stared at me with narrowed eyes while I dangled there. I was so glad I didn't need to breathe anymore.

"Hmn. Apparently you are correct." Sweet Jesus, I'd never been so grateful to not be able to read someone's mind.

With that, he eased me down to the ground, but didn't let go of my throat. "You are to tell no one of your ability."

I nodded and resisted the urge to snort at his terminology. Everyone back in Bon Temps thought I was crazy because of my little _dis_ability. I wasn't in the habit of talking about it _or_ the things I heard from people, but sometimes I made mistakes. Every now and then I accidentally answered questions that hadn't been asked out loud.

Word travels fast in a town as small as Bon Temps, and opinions don't change easily. By the time I was in high school, I was a social outcast. It was barely tolerable until Jason graduated two years before I did; he wouldn't let anyone pick on me too much. Those last two years without him were hellish without him looking out for me. I don't know how I made it to my own graduation.

"As we leave this hotel, I want you to listen in to the thoughts of everyone around us. You will tell me about it when we get back into the car."

"Yes, sir."

"And cut out the 'sir' crap. Just don't be a bitch. Think you can manage that?"

I nodded and he let go of my throat.

"That's my girl. Come on, let's get out of here. It'll be sunrise all too soon."

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Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Oodles of thanks to **scribeninja** for pre-read feedback, and to all of you for your wonderful reviews. :D

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**Sookie POV**

As Eric checked me out of the hotel, I listened in to the thoughts of the people around us. I was glad I could still hear most everyone just fine, since there was going to be a quiz about it. There were some folks who were harder to read; their thoughts were more like colors than sights or sounds. The only person I'd ever known who felt like that was my boss, Sam Merlotte. I wasn't about to ask the occasional stranger why their brains felt different. I'd never given it much thought since Sam seemed like a normal enough guy; on top of that, I spent most of my time trying to _not_ listen in to the minds around me.

Oddly enough, it was easier to block people out tonight. Ordinarily it took most of my concentration to keep a full dinner crowd out of my head when I was working. The lobby of the hotel was plenty busy, but it wasn't too difficult to put up a mental shield that kept them all out. Another plus to being a vampire, it seemed.

I was still trying to not think too much about that whole _vampire_ thing. Not an easy task, at this point. Denial only worked so well.

When we got back into the car, Eric looked at me expectantly.

This was going to be embarrassing. I took an unnecessary breath. "The woman behind the counter wanted to sleep with you and wonders if you're, ah… _proportional_. The bellboy liked my boobs and wanted to sleep with both of us."

He snickered and started the car. "You don't need to be telepathic to figure out those things. Tell me something else."

"The man behind the counter is cheating on his girlfriend, but doesn't want to break it off with her because his family wouldn't like his boyfriend."

"How tedious. Wasn't there anything more interesting going on?"

It was my turn to laugh. "Not really. There rarely is. Most people think about sex, money, and work. After that, it's all variations on those themes. They all want what they haven't got, and don't appreciate what they have."

We drove in silence for a while. I couldn't figure him out. One minute he was ogling me, the next he was holding me against a wall by my throat. If he was predictable in any way, I had yet to figure out how.

Eric was driving like a bat out of hell, and perhaps I ought to have been nervous. But as fast as he was driving, I could tell he knew what he was doing behind the wheel. He was simply doing it more quickly than anyone I'd seen before. When he shifted gears, I could only barely catch the movement of his hands and legs. The transitions were smoother than most automatics I'd been in.

After a few minutes, we appeared to be leaving the city limits of Shreveport. I decided to risk asking something. "Where are we going?"

"We are going to one of my houses."

_One_ of his houses? Good grief, how many houses did a vampire need? He could probably tell what my next question was, because he answered it before I could ask it.

"I have several houses that I switch between periodically. It's safer that way."

This was not what I needed or wanted to hear. "Safer?"

"I'm a vampire and a Sheriff of our kind. I don't need people knowing where I rest."

I guessed that made sense, but it made me wonder how dangerous my new life would be. "Is that a common habit for vampires, to have more than one house?"

"No, but I haven't lived this long for no reason."

"Oh. Is it rude to ask how old you are?"

He grinned. "Not when I give you an opening like that. As you become more familiar with your new senses, you'll be able to get a rough idea of how much older a vampire is. I am about a thousand years old, give or take a few decades."

I gaped at him. A thousand years old? Holy hand baskets, I couldn't imagine living that long. What was life like a thousand years ago? What would it be like in another several hundred years? The idea that I could be around to see it was like a punch in the gut. I wondered if I was about to find out whether or not vampires could throw up.

Luckily, the answer to that question seemed to be a resounding no.

"How long will I be staying with you?" I asked.

"We will need to try to find the one who made you," he said. "If we are unable to find him or her, we can try to place you with someone who will take on that role. To put it in human terms: you are an orphan, and you need to be adopted."

I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed that I wouldn't cry. It felt like I was seven years old and standing on my Gran's front porch, hearing Bud Dearborn tell my Gran that my parents were gone. Only this time, there was no Gran to take care of me, no Jason to chase away the schoolyard bullies. They couldn't help me.

This was all too much. Damn it, this was supposed to be a carefree weekend getting absolutely hammered with Tara in New Orleans. This was _not_ how everything was supposed to go. I was supposed to have a fun time and then go back home, go back to my waitressing job, go back to Gran, go back to my simple life. It didn't seem so simple at the time, but compared to waking up and finding myself a vampire? Easy as pie.

Sweet Jesus, I'd never get to eat pie again. No more of Gran's pecan pies for me. Maybe even no more Gran. That really hurt to think about. Our family was too small to just toss people aside like that; there were only three Stackhouses left: Gran, Jason, and myself. Gran's brother Bartlett didn't count since Gran had disowned him years ago, and with good reason. Lord only knows what happened to my cousin Hadley. No one had heard from her since she bailed on that drug rehab program that Gran had given her money for.

I couldn't imagine Gran disowning just because of what I was now. She'd been able to love me when everyone else considered me a freak. Now I was just a different kind of freak. Actually, that wasn't quite right: now there was a category where I actually fit in, sort of. At the very least, there were others like me. I'd never been more orphaned than I was now, and yet there was somewhere I belonged.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Either choice would likely be of the hysterical variety, at this point.

Did vampires get headaches? This would be about when I'd start to get one if I were still human. Out of habit, I closed my eyes and started rubbing my temples.

"Are you all right?" Eric asked.

I sighed. "I'm… No. I don't think I am. Nothing hurts, I just… This wasn't how my weekend was supposed to go."

"Most vampires didn't plan to become so."

"Did you?"

He let out a low, dark laugh. "No. And before you ask: I do not wish to discuss it with you at this time. Besides, we're almost there."

A few seconds later, we pulled up to a fairly normal-looking subdivision. It was gated, with a manned security post. We passed through with no problems, and then drove almost all the way to the back of the neighborhood. Eric leaned over to open the glove compartment, and reached in to grab one of several garage door openers. I had no idea how he kept them all straight – they looked the same to me. We pulled into the garage and he clicked the remote again to close the door behind us.

There was another car parked here, a silver Lexus with tinted windows. I didn't figure it was my business to ask who it belonged to.

Eric helped me out of the car and then led me into the house. We were standing in a beautiful kitchen that was completely stocked with every appliance imaginable. There were even canned goods in some of the glass-fronted cabinets.

He must have seen my puzzled expression. "It's all for show. Not only do we not need to eat human food, we cannot eat it. Don't try. It's not a pleasant experience. If this had been the house of a human, you would not have been able to enter without an invitation."

"Wow, that old wives' tale is true?"

"Quite. But we don't like to advertise our weaknesses. We'll cover more of those soon enough."

At that, he opened the fridge and I saw that it was well-stocked with True Blood. I grimaced, remembering how awful it had tasted.

"Pick a flavor, any flavor."

"It comes in flavors?" Once again, I was starting to feel overwhelmed. I'd never liked the taste of blood, and now I was supposed to know which _flavor_ of it I'd prefer?

"Sure. A, AB, and O; positive and negative. I don't have any A positive. It's quite boring."

I blinked. "Those are blood types. Do they really taste all that different?"

Instead of answering, he quirked an eyebrow at me.

"I don't know what type I drank earlier today. I'll take whatever, I guess."

He reached into the fridge and grabbed an AB negative. "This one is fairly popular at the bar," he said as he uncapped it and placed it in the microwave. "Time depends on the microwave in question. With the better ones, it only takes about 15 seconds or so. When in doubt, use less time. You don't want to know how bad it can get it you overheat the stuff."

This must have been one of the better microwaves, because fifteen seconds later, I was staring down the neck of a bottle of hot synthetic blood. Eww.

Eric was watching me expectantly. I had a feeling that this was some kind of test. I mentally put on my big girl underoos and drained the entire bottle in one go. It wasn't as bad as the blood I'd had this morning. Maybe it was because this one was a different type, or maybe because this time it wasn't at room temperature.

Whatever the test was, I seem to have passed it; he smiled warmly at me. "Now, rinse the bottle out in the sink, and toss it into the recycling bin."

I did as he ordered. _Vampire 101: how to rinse out bottles of True Blood._ Sweet Jesus, Shepherd of Judea. No wonder new vampires had to stay with their makers for several years, if the lessons were all this slow and spread apart.

"Come with me, I'll show you to your room for today."

I followed him into a bedroom, and when he stepped into a closet, I was more than a little confused.

"Turn around," he said.

I did so, and heard him tapping something that beeped in response. There was a click and then the sound of a door opening.

"You can turn back this way again."

There was a whole other set of steps going down. I couldn't even see the security panel he must have been playing with to get the door to open. This was well-hidden indeed. I didn't want to think about how much all of this had to cost. No way would I be able to afford it.

Eric held the door open as I passed through it and headed down the stairs. Good gravy, this place was huge! It looked like it was bigger than the rest of the entire house, and that was just the main room that I could see. There were several doors which I assumed weren't just closets.

We hadn't actually discussed sleeping accommodations. I suddenly felt very anxious. Why had I trusted this person? What was he going to do to me here? All of a sudden, this felt like a very bad idea. Eric started walking towards me, and I flinched.

He frowned and continued moving past me. He opened a door and went into the room, turning on a light somewhere inside.

"Sookie, come here."

Nervously, I went into the room. He was leaning up against a wall near another door that I guessed went to a bathroom.

"This is where you'll spend the day. The sun's coming up soon, so whatever you want to do before you rest, I suggest you get started."

"Do I _have_ to sleep?" I know I probably sounded like a petulant child, but I couldn't help it. Even though I wanted nothing more than to pass out into some form of oblivion, I didn't think I'd be able to sleep a wink tonight.

"You won't have the option of not sleeping. Once the sun's up, you'll slip into rest and won't wake back up until the sun goes down."

"Oh." I didn't know what else to say to that. And then I realized that I had yet another problem: we hadn't brought my bag in from the car. It was still in the trunk of the Corvette. After what happened in the hotel room, I wasn't about to start making any demands. Even asking questions felt sketchy.

"I really appreciate you letting me stay with you tonight," I said, trying to remember my manners. "Do you, ah, do this often?"

"You mean, am I in the habit of running a hostel for abandoned newborns?" he chuckled. "Can't say that I am, no. There are places like that in New Orleans. This sort of thing isn't common, but it's more likely to happen there than it is here."

I moved over to the bed and sat down. I was starting to feel sluggish, like I was walking through water that came up to my neck. "I feel…"

"That's the sun coming up. You've got about twenty more minutes before you'll go under."

Go under? That didn't make me feel good. I started to panic. "Will it hurt?"

"What?" He seemed startled. "No, it doesn't hurt at all. You'll close your eyes at dawn. When the sun sets, you'll wake up again. It will feel like you blinked, as if no time has passed."

"I'm sorry, I must seem really stupid."

His facial expression seemed more gentle, almost caring. "I would not expect you to know everything about being a vampire on your first night as one. Much will be new to you." He frowned. "Wait here, I will return."

He left the room so quickly; I barely saw him move at all. He was there one moment, gone the next. He returned almost as swiftly, but this time he had my bag. I was relieved to not have to ask.

"Behind that door is a bathroom, but I do not imagine you will have time for a shower. I would suggest getting into bed sooner rather than later."

I nodded. "Okay. Again, thank you."

I rummaged in my bag for my sleep shorts and a tank top. "Shouldn't you be getting ready as well?" I asked.

"At my age, I don't need to sleep so soon after dawn. I'll make sure you are settled in before I retire to my room."

I shrugged and took my clothes into the bathroom to change. Sure enough, the more time passed, the slower I felt. It wasn't a sleepy feeling, really. More like I was a child's toy and my batteries were running out. I hurried as much as I could, feeling all the while like I was running out of time.

When I stepped back out into the bedroom, Eric was still there. I was starting to get annoyed. Was he going to leave me alone or not? Was I missing something? Was he expecting something?

That's when then everything went black.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sookie POV**

I opened my eyes a second later and found that I was on the bed. Under the covers, even. Eric was standing in the same place, but now he was wearing entirely different clothes. Huh?

"Evening, Sookie."

"How did I get here? And aren't you going to go to bed soon?" I asked. I hoped I didn't sound rude, but I really wasn't comfortable with the idea of him watching me while I was out cold.

He laughed. "Not for another dozen hours, give or take. You fell asleep mid-step last night. I was anticipating that might happen. First few months can be a bitch like that."

"It's already tomorrow?" That was quick. He'd been right: it was like I blinked. It was more than a little disorienting. But that was likely the reason why he was hovering last night, if he'd been expecting me to drop like a stone. It also explained why I was tucked in and under the covers, but I didn't want to think too much about how that might have come about.

"Technically, it's the same _day_ as when you went to sleep. That will take some getting used to as well. But it is the next _night_, yes."

Ugh. Was there a vampire version of coffee? Probably not, but my throat was burning again. I rubbed my neck and swallowed.

Eric held out a bottle of True Blood, and I practically flew over to him to grab it. I surprised myself at how quickly I'd moved, but I was too busy trying to gulp it down to say anything. Yeah, this stuff was still horrible, but it helped the pain at least a little bit.

"Thank you," I said as soon as I was done. No doubt I'd looked completely unladylike as I downed an entire bottle of blood, but I was beyond caring at that point. The thirst was overpowering.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'll make sure you have a proper meal soon enough."

My eyes went wide as the meaning of his words sunk in.

Eric smirked. "I'll leave you to shower and get dressed. We'll be going to Fangtasia in about an hour, so be ready by then." With that, he left the room.

I grabbed my bag and rifled through the contents. I still didn't have anything that would be entirely appropriate for the club, namely: something all black. I _did _have a dark red dress that I'd never had the chance to wear before; it had a halter top and a flowy skirt that came down to just below my knees. That looked like a better choice than the other outfit I'd brought along - a yellow sundress.

I'd even be able to wear the same red heels I'd worn the night before, so that was a plus. I was determined to take my silver linings wherever I could find them, provided they weren't actual silver. Tara and I hadn't tested whether or not her necklaces would have any effect on me, but even from across the room they'd smelled foul.

As a human, I'd thought blood smelled kind of like pennies. It had been disgusting. I'd never noticed whether or not silver had an odor before now; it was sour and tangy at the same time. It struck me as odd how my body was making entirely different decisions about what smelled good, based on whether or not it was good for me.

When I got out my toiletry bag, a thought occurred to me. I ran my tongue around in my mouth and didn't feel any of the usual post-sleep grossness. No morning breath. Did vampires need to brush their teeth? Maybe I should start writing these questions down. I might feel ridiculous asking them, but I'd probably want to be taking notes of all the stuff I was going to be learning about my new life. Or un-life, whatever.

This shower was intimidating with all of its dials and buttons; I'd never seen anything like it, but after a few tries I had a nice warm shower going. It was strange to not have to pee as soon as I woke up. I'd never have to pee, ever again. Where did all that blood go? Did it just evaporate, somehow? What was my body doing with it? But hey, just think of all the money I'd save by not having to buy toilet paper.

Wow, that was really reaching, even for me.

I was trying so hard to only think of the positive aspects of all of this, no matter how small or ridiculous. The negative aspects were going to be coming at me hard and fast, so in this private moment I wanted to put them off as long as I possibly could.

Crap. It was Sunday evening. I was supposed to already be back in Bon Temps. Gran must be worried sick. I sighed. Since I didn't have a cell phone, it wasn't like I could call her. There was no phone in this room. It would have to wait. Maybe Tara called her? I kind of hoped not. It wasn't her business to break that kind of news to my family. Sweet Jesus, I needed to stop worrying about all of this. There wasn't anything I could do about it at that exact moment.

I just needed to get through this shower. Then I needed to dry my hair and get dressed. One thing at a time, that's how I was going to take this. That was all I could do. There was no room for planning more than five minutes ahead. I'd lose my mind if I tried to do that. I couldn't even think beyond what would happen when we left this house tonight.

Maybe _that_ was why new vampires had to stay with their makers for so long. How much time would it take for me to be able to think straight again? Would I ever feel like I wasn't about to fall apart at the seams?

I sighed and reached for the soap.

I found myself lost in the feelings of the water on my skin as I took my second shower as a vampire. Every drop was humming warmth on my skin, and I could feel the gradual change of the temperature of the water as it coursed down my body. The slipperiness of soap was tantalizing and torturous, like a tickle that didn't make me want to laugh.

Long before I wanted to be done, there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Yes?"

"Just making sure you're all right," Eric said through the door. "You've been in the shower for almost forty-five minutes."

"Oh, crap! I'm sorry. I'll be right out." Shoot. I hoped we weren't going to be late. Last thing I needed was for him to be pissed off at me. I had enough problems.

It startled me how quickly I was able to move as I rushed to dry off and get dressed. There was nothing I could do for my hair, so I towel-dried it as much as I could and coiled it into a bun.

Eric seemed impressed when I was ready before the hour was up. He looked at the purse I was holding, and raised an eyebrow.

"Leave the bag here. Your money's no good at Fangtasia, and your human identification cards are now invalid."

I thought about the contents of my purse: money, my driver's license, some lip gloss and a tampon. He was right. Nothing I really needed, unless vampire women still got their periods. As many questions as I had for him, _that_ certainly wasn't going to be one of them. I just nodded, went back into the bedroom and tucked the purse into my larger bag.

As we walked up the steps to the ground level of the house, Eric once again directed me to turn around while he entered a code on a security panel. Apparently I wouldn't be able to get out any easier than I'd be able to get in. The idea didn't comfort me in the slightest.

The ride to Fangtasia was quiet, but not uncomfortably so. For my part, I was feeling too emotionally unsteady to initiate any small talk. If there was something important that I needed to know, Eric would probably tell me. In the meantime, I was waiting for the next shoe to drop.

Once we got to the club, Eric escorted me to his office and told me I could sit on the leather couch that was nestled in a corner. It looked comfortable enough. While I sat down, I wondered if he was going to pull another strip routine in front of me; he'd come to the club in jeans and a t-shirt. Instead, he got settled behind his desk and did some work on a laptop I hadn't noticed before.

It was eerily quiet in here; there was no music coming from the other room, so I guessed they hadn't opened for the night just yet. If I still breathed, that would have been the loudest noise in the room.

I closed my eyes and thought back to a happier time. Less than a week ago, I'd had a wonderful day working on my tan. The wind had been cool, but the sun was warm on my skin. I spent several hours on a lawn chair that I'd set up on the grass in front of the house that Gran and I shared. Tanning had been my only vice. One look in the mirror this morning was enough to show me that my tan wasn't going to last forever. It was already fading. I'd never get it back, now. It seemed like a strange thing to mourn.

Crap, I still needed to call Gran. With any luck, she would think that Tara and I had simply gotten delayed. Thinking about that reminded me that I also needed to figure out what I was going to do about my job. Even if I was allowed to keep it, I knew I'd never work the lunch shift again. The other girls weren't going to like that; the dinner shift always brought in better tips.

I cleared my throat, which got Eric's attention.

"Yes?"

"Is there a phone I can use? I need to make some calls."

He sat back and looked thoughtfully at me. "There are people expecting you at home?"

"My Gran. I was supposed to have gotten back from New Orleans this afternoon." I sighed. "I have no idea what I'm going to tell her."

Eric shrugged. "You could say you decided to spend more time there."

I shook my head. "I can't lie to her. She'd know. And I'll have to tell her eventually. I'll also need to call my boss and figure something out with him."

"Where did you work?" His use of the past tense didn't escape my notice. My heart sank.

"Merlotte's, it's a bar in Bon Temps."

"You worked for the shifter?" he asked.

I bristled at his implication of my boss' character. "There's nothing _shifty_ about Sam. He's a decent, hard-working man."

He gave me a wry grin, to my confusion. "I will call him for you. You can use this phone to call your grandmother. Dial nine before the number."

Whether out of consideration or coincidence, Eric left the room after setting the phone closer to one of the chairs in front of his desk. I got up and eyeballed that phone, wishing this was already over and done with.

None of my usual nervous tics were applicable. There was no need to take a deep breath, no sweat on my palms to wipe on my dress. In other words, there were no excuses to fidget or stall.

I cradled the headpiece between my ear and shoulder and dialed the first number I'd ever memorized as a child.

It took a few rings, and it was Jason who answered instead of Gran. "Hello?"

"Jason! It's me, Sookie. Is Gran there?"

"Where ya been, Sook? Me an' Gran been worried aboutcha. You were supposed to be back for dinner."

"I know, and I'm sorry. It's kind of a long story. I really need to talk to Gran."

My brother grumbled but told me to hang on. A few seconds later, I heard Gran pick up.

"Sookie, honey? Are you okay?"

I took a pointless breath and tried to not cry. "I… I'm okay, Gran. Honest. But something happened in New Orleans."

"You're alive and that's what counts," she said. I didn't want to correct her on that: technically, I wasn't counted amongst the living anymore. "Are you sure you're all right?"

I closed my eyes and knew that I had to get this out fast, or it wasn't going to happen at all. Before I could stop myself, I'd told her everything: the first night there, Tara and I had gotten split up and I'd woken up the next evening as a vampire; I was in Shreveport, staying with a vampire who'd said he was going to help me through this, but that I probably wouldn't be able to come home anytime soon.

It all poured out of me in a rush, and by the end of it there were tears streaming down my face. Gran had gasped once or twice, but was otherwise quiet. It wasn't until I'd finished talking that I realized she was sniffling. She hushed Jason when he started fussing at her; he wanted to find out who he needed to go beat up. I was glad he was with her. When he got upset like that, she was the only one who could keep him from doing anything stupid.

"The important thing, Sookie, is that you're still around to tell me about it. The rest of it is just details. We'll get through this. You be the strong woman I know you are. You're still a Stackhouse, and no matter what happens, I will always love you."

The tears were falling freely now; the relief from hearing her say those last five words was almost painful. "Thank you, Gran. I love you so much. I swear I'll make sure you stay proud of me."

Gran took a breath, and I could almost picture her straightening up in her chair. I did the same as I tried to stop crying.

"Now then," she said, "This person who's helping you. What's his name?"

"Eric Northman. He's kind of the head guy around these parts, I guess."

"Is he respectful?"

I didn't have to ask what she meant by that. "I think so. I mean, he has been, so far. I don't think he's going to take advantage."

"Good. You let me know the minute that changes. He can't be the only one out there who can help you."

That puzzled me for a moment; who on earth could Gran call that would be able to help me out with my new existence? It wasn't like either of us had ever met a vampire before, to the best of my knowledge.

I promised to keep Gran updated, and she promised she'd break the news to Jason as gently as she could. She didn't have to say it, but it went without saying that she'd also keep him from going off the handle. We both knew that what was done was done, and there was no going back and undoing it. This wasn't a problem that could be solved by roughing someone up, as Jason would be inclined to do.

Even if violence could have accomplished anything, there was no one to direct it towards. We had no idea who'd done this to me. Eric had said something about trying to find out, but I didn't mention that to Gran.

After I hung up the phone, I got up to wash my face. There was a small bathroom that was private to the office, for which I was grateful. I wasn't fit to be seen at the moment. My face was a hot mess, and my dress wasn't much better. The only saving grace was that the fabric was dark red, and the bloody spots only looked like water. I tried to clean up as best as I could. My face looked right as rain after I washed it, but the dress probably wasn't salvageable.

When I went back into the office, Eric was sitting at his desk again. He looked at me as I walked back to the couch, and I was grateful that he didn't comment on my disheveled appearance.

"I've called your old job, so that's been taken care of. Your boss asked me to inform you that you will always be welcome at his establishment." He said this with a bit of a sneer, but I was too wiped out to call him on it. I got the feeling there was some history between him and Sam, and it wasn't entirely pleasant.

"I won't be going back there anytime soon, will I?"

"I'm afraid not. It will be a while before you can be left to your own devices."

Suddenly it felt hard to swallow all of this dependency that was being pushed at me. I'd always been my own woman, always made my own decisions. Why was I putting up with this? My anger bubbled up so quickly that it shocked me. Who was he to tell me what to do? I didn't work for him, he wasn't my boss. He wasn't my maker, either.

The look on Eric's face grew dark and cold.

"Before you say a single thing, Miss Stackhouse," he growled, "I would like to remind you of your position. You are now a vampire, and as such you are subject to a whole new set of laws and rules. I will not tolerate any insubordination from you, and I am the least of your concerns. Whether I treat you with leniency or ruthlessness will depend entirely on you. Choose your words and actions wisely with me."

Shamed, I burst into a fresh set of tears. For heaven's sake, I wasn't even this moody on my worst days. What was wrong with me?

When he spoke next, his tone was gentler. "What you are going through is not abnormal. Just as your senses are heightened, so will be your emotional reactions. You will get them under control eventually. This is part of why it is so important that you not be alone at this time."

"I'm sorry. You didn't ask to put up with me any more than I asked for… all of this." Out of nowhere, I was laughing.

Eric looked at me like I was insane, which didn't seem inappropriate under the circumstances. He brought me some paper towels, which I used to clean my face.

With him standing so close to me, I couldn't help but be aware of his scent. It was heady and intoxicating. Before I could stop myself, I'd leapt out of my seat and latched my arms around his neck. My fangs were fully down and only inches away from his throat.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sookie POV**

The most tantalizing aroma was overwhelming me, and I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into it. _This_ was what I was craving. This was what my new life was all about.

I snarled when something kept me from going those last few inches. Damn it, I was so _close_. There was a sharp pain pulling me away from my meal, but it wasn't nearly as agonizing as the burning need to devour whatever it was that smelled so tasty. My vision clouded over in a red haze.

Something cold was shoved into my mouth and I felt liquid going down my throat. It didn't taste anything like the succulent treat I had been denied, but I swallowed it eagerly.

When I the fog started to clear, I found myself on the floor, lying on my back. Eric was crouched over me, holding me down with his forearm pressed against my collarbones. Too close for me to angle in for a bite. He had another bottle of True Blood ready, and I didn't resist when he put it up to my mouth. I closed my eyes as I drank, ready for the earth to swallow me up out of mortification. It was only then that I realized it was _him_ I'd been trying to drink from.

It wasn't until he pulled away that I noticed I'd been digging my nails into his arm. I watched in horror as the fresh wounds healed over. Faint pink lines all over his face and neck were already starting to disappear. I didn't even know how those got there. I prayed that whatever punishment was in store for me, it would be over quickly.

Eric's face was oddly blank, and I cringed as I waited for him to let loose with a stream of recriminations. Or at the very least, a solid I Told You So.

When he didn't say anything right away, I tried to apologize. "I am _so_ sorry. I have no idea what that was…"

"That was blood lust. It will get easier to manage as you age. You will feel better once you have fed properly. True Blood does not adequately relieve hunger in younger vampires. This was partially my fault: I should have provided you with real sustenance when we first arrived."

"So you mean I have to… to drink from people?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "You would _want_ to drink only synthetic blood?"

I grimaced. "Well, I'd _rather_ be eating fried chicken and pecan pie… but I don't want to kill anyone."

Eric chuckled and stood up. "There are more than enough willing donors here every night, and draining them would be quite bad for business."

Eric held his hand out to help me up off of the floor. I took it and stood up, feeling slightly woozy. My hair was falling in my face; I was confused until I remembered the pain that had kept me from sinking my teeth in his neck. He'd probably grabbed me by the hair. I sat back down on the couch and combed through my locks with my fingers as I tried to process what he'd just told me.

I'd never really given it much thought, but the whole reason behind the Great Revelation was the fact that synthetic blood meant vampires no longer needed to drink from humans. It was never stated as "gosh, we _guess_ we can stop killing you now," but that was the implication most people seemed to take from it.

It was a huge relief to find out I didn't need to kill someone anytime I got peckish. It was something I hadn't really let myself think about, because it was just too awful to consider.

I would have to learn how to feed, if synthetic blood wouldn't keep me from attacking people at random. There was probably more to it than just "bite and suck." Times like these made me wish I'd been able to pay better attention in high school biology class.

Eric didn't seem too upset with me, and since he'd said my freak out was partially his fault, I guessed that meant I'd been giving something of a free pass. Even so, it wasn't something I wanted to go through again. I hated feeling so out of control. And if I'd pulled that sort of stunt on Pam, it probably would have been far more unpleasant for me. She seemed far less patient than Eric.

I'd been so lost in thought, it took me by surprise to look up and see Pam standing in front of me with a bored expression on her face.

"Ready for your first real meal?" she asked.

I nodded. The bottled blood had taken the edge off, but I was still hungry. Pam left the office and came back a minute later with a woman about my age. It didn't matter at all to me what she looked like; all I saw were the pulsing veins in her neck. She could have been a supermodel or a toothless hag, for all I cared.

Eric told me to stay seated; they would bring her to me. I clutched at the hem of my dress, desperate to keep my hands from misbehaving. Pam and the woman sat on the couch with me. The woman sat slightly sideways, so that her back was towards me. Eric came to stand behind me.

Pam placed a finger right over the woman's jugular. "Place your hands on her shoulders and bite here. Listen to the heartbeat; you need to stop drinking just as it starts to slow."

I nodded and leaned in closer. Putting my hands on the woman's shoulders, I took a breath and leaned in closer. I was scared, but I couldn't stop myself. At the last moment, I paused to listen in to the woman's thoughts; I wanted to make sure she was okay with this.

I flew away from her like I'd been shot out of a cannon. "_Stake!_"

Eric caught me up in his arms and Pam smiled.

"Don't just sit there!" I shouted. "She has a stake! She's going to try to kill us!"

Pam laughed and stood up. "Well that answers _that_ question. I'll take care of her memory, Eric. Should I bring in another for the baby?"

"Please do, on both counts," he said. "Calm yourself, Sookie."

I whirled to stare at him. "What the _hell_, Eric? She was going to try to stake one of us! What are you going to do to her?"

The bastard actually smiled at me. "No. It was test. Besides, a single human against three vampires? Not a huge threat."

I clenched my hands into fists. My nails were digging into my palms, and I focused on the pain in order to keep myself from flying at Eric again. Whether it was out of anger or hunger, I wasn't sure. Either way, I wanted to bite and claw the ever-loving crap out of him. When the red haze started seeping into my vision, I forced my eyes shut and thought about cute, fluffy things. Kittens. Puppies. Baby chickens. Things I would never want to hurt.

When I looked back at him after a few minutes, he was smiling even more broadly. "_Very_ well done, indeed. Not only have your proven your telepathy, you've started to get a handle on your impulses. I'm impressed."

"She didn't really have a stake?" I asked. I could give a rat's ass about his compliments; I still wanted to hurt him.

"No. Pam glamoured her into believing that she did. We wanted to determine whether or not you were being truthful about your abilities."

I glared at him. "_You _told me to not tell anyone about them."

"Yes," he said, his voice turning cold. "And let us not forget which of us is giving orders around here."

Pam came back into the room with another woman. I stomped over to my "meal" and spun her around so that we were both facing Eric. With my hands on the woman's shoulders, I tilted my head towards her neck and bit.

The most delicious flavor hit my tongue, and I moaned with joy. This was _nothing_ like True Blood. This was better than anything I had ever eaten. My arms wrapped around the woman's chest, holding her as close to me as possible. She was so warm, and it felt wonderful. My eyes flicked up to see Eric watching me. His face was blank, but his gaze locked on mine. He was tensed, ready to intervene if I did something wrong. _Screw him_, I thought as I closed my eyes.

The only sound in my ears was the heartbeat of the woman under me. It was slowing. I knew I needed to pull away.

I tried, I really did. My body wasn't listening to me. Pam and Eric had to physically separate me from the woman. As Eric restrained me, Pam licked the woman's neck. A growl rose up out of my throat, almost of its own accord. Eric's arms tightened around me and Pam scowled.

A slight rumbling noise came from outside. Pam looked puzzled for a split second, and then went back to glowering at me.

"Relax, Sookie," Eric said. "Pam is only sealing her wounds. You will need to remember to do that after drinking from a human."

There was another rumble, which I recognized as thunder. I cleared my throat to stop the growl, which I'd really had no control over. My own body was frightening me with the way it was behaving; even now, it was trying to struggle out of the grip it was being held in. It was futile: there was no way I'd ever be stronger than Eric.

As my hunger slowly receded, everything seemed to settle down.

"Pam, I think we'll save the glamouring lesson for another time," Eric said. "She needs to calm herself before she can calm anyone else."

"Right. I'm on it."

I watched as Pam looked the woman in the eyes and mumbled something just under her breath. After she was done, she grabbed the woman's hand and led her out of the office.

I wasn't too keen on the idea of being alone with Eric right now. Something told me that neither of us was the other's favorite vampire. He spun me around, but kept a firm grip on my elbows.

"Think you can control yourself now?"

Through a clenched jaw, I replied, "I'm trying."

"I can tell." He let out a short laugh. "Believe it or not, you're doing well. You haven't killed or maimed a single person yet."

I raised an eyebrow. "Uh, is that unusual?"

Sensing that I'd been confused out of my irritation, he let go of me. "I killed almost a dozen humans before I learned now to not drain them dry."

Sweet Jesus. He'd spoken with such nonchalance, as if those lives hadn't mattered. What kind of monster _was _he?

"What's wrong with you?" I demanded. "Don't you care that you've _murdered_ people?"

His eyes narrowed as he stared me down. "Manners, Miss Stackhouse."

There was no way I was going to tolerate a lecture on my behavior from this murderer. I whirled and started to stomp away from him, only to find myself planted face-first against a wall. One of my arms was twisted up and around behind my back, and Eric's voice was deadly quiet in my ear.

"I am growing tired of your attitude. Do not make me adjust it for you."

As if on cue, there was crack of thunder; it was so loud and close that it would have rattled the windows if there'd been any in the room. A storm was moving in, and quickly. I gasped from the pain as Eric wrenched my arm, reminding me I had bigger things to worry about than the weather.

"I will always do what is required for my own survival," he growled, "And I refuse to feel guilty for it. Now then, let us speak of _your_ survival. Pam would just as soon see you chained in the basement until we locate your maker, and the basement here is far less cozy than the one you stayed in last. Do you understand what I am telling you, Miss Stackhouse?"

"Yes," I gasped. "I… I'm sorry."

"You have said that several times. It is starting to lose meaning for me. Perhaps you should try acting it instead of saying it."

I nodded as tears of pain and humiliation came to my eyes. I fell backwards as Eric was very suddenly no longer behind me. He was once again sitting behind his desk.

"Sit," he ordered.

Head hanging, I went back to the couch and curled up until a ball. The only thing I was thankful for, in that miserable moment, was that my Gran couldn't see how absolutely horrible I felt. I buried my head in my arms and did my best to not cry. Again.

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Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sookie POV**

As I sat on the couch, I tried to distract myself from feeling awful. Not only was I hating my circumstances, I felt like I'd been a complete bitch to someone who was trying to help me. Maybe there was something I could do to make it up to him. After all, this was the person who was going to have no small part in deciding what happened to me in the very near future.

The club had opened already, and things were starting to pick up. If the storm was still going on outside, I couldn't hear or feel it over the loud pounding music coming from the main room. I scanned the place and realized I could tell that there were vampires there as well: their brains registered almost like holes in a map. There were five vampires and about twenty to thirty humans. One by one, I sifted through the thoughts I could hear.

_Bingo_.

I looked up at Eric, who was typing on his laptop. He didn't look angry anymore, but I was still going to try to be on my best behavior.

"Eric?"

"What?" he asked sharply, without looking up from his work.

Yeah, he was definitely still annoyed. "I'm sor… Um, I don't mean to bother you, but there's someone in the club who's thinking about draining one of the vampires here." Eric's eyes snapped up at me. "He's standing at the bar, and he has a silver net hidden in the inside pocket of his leather jacket."

"Stay here."

Eric jumped out of his seat and strode out of the office.

He came back in a few minutes later, holding a man by the scruff of the neck. He kicked a chair into the middle of the room and positioned it facing me. Roughly, he sat the man down in the chair. Almost immediately, I detected the sour scent of silver on him.

"What is your name?" Eric demanded.

"Fuck you, asshole."

There was a sharp cracking noise, and blood started pouring from the man's nose. I was glad I couldn't smell it over the silver, but even the sight of it made my fangs tingle under my gums.

"Let's try that again, shall we? What is your name?"

The man snarled. "David. David Thomas."

"He's lying," I said. The name I'd pulled from his head was Kevin Riley.

Kevin glared at me, and I returned his hostile gaze, pleased to have somewhere to redirect my anger. He froze, and his eyes glazed over. Eric raised an eyebrow at me and whapped Kevin solidly upside the back of his head. There was no reaction.

"Third time's the charm," Eric said. "Tell me your name."

"Kevin Riley." His voice was a bored monotone that seemed really out of place, given the situation he was in.

"And what were you planning on doing here tonight, Kevin?"

"I was going to drain a vampire for some of their blood."

'How were you planning to accomplish that?"

"I brought a silver net with me. It's inside my jacket."

Eric pulled a latex glove out of his pocket, snapped it on, and reached into the man's jacket. Just as I'd heard, from his mind as well as his mouth, Kevin did indeed have a silver net hidden in there. I almost heaved as the smell got stronger, which caused Eric to give me a strange look.

I was distracted when I felt an odd pulse of energy come from Eric. Kevin jumped up from the chair and tried to bolt for the door, but not before Eric clotheslined him with a well-placed arm. The drainer lay gasping on the floor as Pam walked in.

"Take him downstairs and see that he doesn't leave," Eric said.

Pam smiled broadly and picked Kevin up by his hair. She dragged him, kicking and screaming, from the office.

Eric went over to his desk, pulled out a Ziploc bag, and dropped the silver net into it. He grabbed a Sharpie and wrote something on the bag before dropping it into one of the drawers of his desk. Once again, I was grateful that I didn't need to breathe. I could go a long time without ever smelling that stench again.

Snapping off the latex glove, he sat down in his chair, kicked his feet up onto the desk and clasped his hands behind his head. He was staring at me with a thoughtful expression, but didn't say anything.

When he didn't say anything for what felt like forever, I sighed and laid my head back down on my arms. I was still curled up into a ball; the only thing missing was a thick blanket for me to hide behind. A pillow to bury my head under would have been nice, too.

"Are you giving me the silent treatment now?" Eric asked.

I looked up at him, confused. "No," I answered quietly. "I just thought it was best to not speak until spoken to."

"Ah. A wise decision," he said. I tried to not show how irritated I was with the surprise in his voice. "What you did was quite helpful, and very nicely done. It would have been flawless if you had not gotten distracted. What caused you to gag?"

My nose wrinkled as I remembered the stench. "It was the silver. That stuff stinks!"

His eyelids twitched slightly. "You can smell silver?"

"Um, I guess so? Tara had some, and it smelled just like that guy's net. Kind of like sour milk and orange juice. Doesn't it bother you?"

"I was not expecting you to glamour him like that," he said, ignoring my question.

"Glamour?" He'd mentioned something about that earlier, but I couldn't recall what he'd said. It had been a tumultuous evening, and it wasn't anywhere near over yet.

"It is a vampire ability similar to hypnotism. Attitude problems aside, you are taking to being a vampire like a fish to water." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Tell me truthfully: how long have you _really_ been a vampire?"

"I know I've been a bitch, but I haven't lied to you," I said softly.

He was silent for a short while. "This would be easier for both of us if I were your maker."

"How so?"

"When your maker tells you to do something, or to act in a certain manner, it is a compulsion that you cannot resist. There is an emotional bond between maker and child that enables the maker to calm their child when necessary."

I sniffled and tried to hold back more tears. "But my maker didn't want me."

"Irrelevant. It is a psychic connection, not a sentimental attachment."

"Oh. So if I ran into him on the street, I would know that he was my maker?"

"Or she, yes. You would be able to feel them before you saw them. A maker can call their child over great distances." He paused and narrowed his eyes. "When you woke in the hotel room, did you immediately feel the need to leave town?"

I thought back, trying to recall when exactly I'd felt the need to return to Bon Temps. "It wasn't until I was talking on the phone with Tara. Maybe an hour after I got up."

"Was the feeling strong enough to cause a physical sensation?"

"Other than the panic I was already feeling? No. Why?"

"I was considering the possibility that your maker was distantly compelling you to leave town. If they did not want to be recognized, and were not themselves in a position to leave, they would have wanted you gone."

"Does that help narrow it down at all? In trying to figure out who they are, I mean."

He shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. There could be any number of reasons why they could not, or simply would not, leave New Orleans."

"So what do we do now?" I asked tentatively.

"I have not yet decided. I have work to do," Eric said, as he turned back to his computer. "You may entertain yourself by reading the minds of the customers in the bar."

Ugh. That didn't sound entertaining at all, but I did as he suggested. Most of the people in the bar were feeling unsettled for some reason or another. Many of them had come to see Eric; apparently he spent a fair bit of time sitting on a fancy-looking chair at one end of the room. He was one of the main attractions, so to speak. Based on some of the mental images I caught, it wasn't hard to figure out why. I wasn't sure if they were memories or fantasies, but they were all fairly graphic.

Aside from the parts with blood and fangs, it wasn't much that I hadn't seen before. Seeing those sorts of mental images had never flipped my switch before, so it disturbed me to find myself aroused by what I picked up. To make matters worse, I was appalled to realize that I could smell my own excitement. It wasn't an unpleasant fragrance; I just prayed that Eric wouldn't catch a whiff of it.

I wanted nothing more than to run from the room when I heard him inhale: one quick sniff, and then a slower, more deliberate inhale.

Sweet Jesus, could this night _get_ any worse?

Thankfully, the answer appeared to be no. He went back to typing and clicking on his computer. Several hours passed with me huddled on the couch, listening to the minds in the club. I didn't come across anything else that I thought Eric needed to know about. Everyone seemed grumpy. One or two people had been stood up. A fair number of people were upset because the unexpected storm had ruined their hair, clothes, or make-up. A few folks were disappointed that none of the vampires seemed to be in a biting mood.

When I came across that thought, it occurred to me that I wasn't hungry. Tonight I had three or four bottles of blood, but then again, I'd also drunk from that nameless woman. It seemed like a lot until I remembered that last night I'd gone through nine bottles: four in the hotel room, four in the car, and then another one at Eric's house.

I lifted my head to ask Eric about that, and was surprised to see that he was leaning back in his chair and watching me. Come to think of it, I hadn't heard him typing or moving around for a while. Best to not ponder that too much, I thought.

"Find something?" He asked.

"No, but I had a question, if that's okay."

"You may ask."

"Will I always need to drink so much?"

"No," Eric replied. "I can go several days without drinking if necessary. You will need lots of blood, especially the real kind, at first. It will taper off."

Thank God for small favors. If I kept up this rate for any length of time, I'd be knocking over liquor stores and robbing blood banks just to keep up.

Not too much longer after that, the music to the club shut off. I'd noticed that the number of human minds in the building had been dwindling, but hadn't really made the connection to the club closing for the day.

The door to the office flew open with a bang and Pam stomped in. The sudden noise made me jump, but Eric just grinned.

"Closing a little early tonight, aren't we Pam?"

From behind folded arms and a frustrated glare, Pam cursed. "You're only saying that because you didn't have to deal with those bastards tonight. Assholes, all of them. And we're only closing an hour early."

Eric shrugged. "It's Sunday. No big deal. Gives us time to talk. Sit."

Pam took a seat and the two of them launched into a conversation in a language I didn't recognize. It wasn't hard to tell that they were talking about me; Eric was more subtle about occasionally looking my way, but Pam had to turn her head to do it. Several times, she had a shocked look on her face. I had no idea if that was a good or bad thing.

It was hard to sit there and pretend like nothing was going on, when I knew they were probably discussing what to do with me. I hadn't exactly been the most pleasant of guests, even if some of the reasons were things beyond my ability to control.

They stood up and Pam left the room.

"Come, little one," Eric said. "Time to leave."

I uncurled my body from the tight ball I'd been in, happily surprised to find that I wasn't stiff from being in the same position for several hours. Finally, another perk. I stretched anyway, because it felt good.

We left the same way we'd come in, through the back of the club. The air outside was cold and damp, but it didn't feel bad. I'd probably be shivering if I were still human.

It surprised me when Eric helped me get into the car. He didn't say anything until we were on the road.

"You are proving yourself to be an interesting asset."

"How so?" I wasn't sure I liked being referred to as an _asset_, but if it meant keeping me around, as opposed to shuffling me off to another vampire who might be worse, then I wasn't going to split hairs.

"You're a telepath who can smell silver. Those are two very unusual talents, and highly useful ones at that."

I could understand why he would think the telepathy was useful, even if I didn't like using it. "Silver is bad for us, isn't it?"

"Very. Silver burns and incapacitates us. With the amount of silver that is used in small items such as necklaces and rings, vampires have to be careful to not get hurt by it. Sometimes it happens accidentally, but more often it is used against us on purpose."

"And I've got an early detection system for it."

"Exactly. If I were stupid, I'd set you up as our bouncer when you got a little older."

That puzzled me. "Why would that be stupid?" Not that I was complaining: eternity as a doorman didn't sound like my idea of a good time.

Eric turned to me and smirked. "Because I suspect your talents would be wasted in such an insignificant position."

The double meaning of his words wasn't lost on me, and I was embarrassed to find that my body responded to the context we hadn't been discussing. This was even worse than in the office: it was a small, enclosed space, and he was much closer to me than he had been.

I wanted nothing more than to get back to the house so I could be by myself for a while. I felt trapped, always under watch. Unfortunately, Eric disagreed; he was driving more slowly than he had been. I looked up and realized that I had no idea where we were. Not because I didn't recognize any of the landmarks, but because I couldn't _see_ anything.

We were driving through the thickest fog I'd ever seen. We'd already left the city limits of Shreveport, so the area wasn't very well lit. At this time of morning, there weren't many cars on the road. That was a good thing, because Eric was still driving at what I would have thought was a crazy speed.

"I haven't seen fog like this since I lived in London."

"I've _never_ seen fog like this. Must be related to that storm we had earlier."

"Hmn. Must be."

The patch of fog we'd driven through wasn't a big one, and before long we were pulling up to the house. I felt tired in a way that I knew wasn't related to the sun; there was still another hour or two before dawn.

I really hated what sleep was like for me now. It felt like I'd been awake for days; even though I wasn't physically tired, I was emotionally exhausted. The idea of living like this for hundreds of years was not an appealing one. It was just one more thing in a long list of stuff I had to get used to.

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Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: The muses are starting to get finicky with this story, so updates may be slower for a bit. But that could just mean I go back to working on A Smarter Sookie - I know y'all would be _so_ upset about that... ;)

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**Sookie POV**

We pulled up to the house and went in just as we had the night before, with me turning my back while Eric entered the necessary codes into the security panels. He didn't speak until we were downstairs.

"Go ahead and get changed into something more comfortable if you prefer, but come back into the living room when you're done. There are things we need to discuss."

I went into the room I'd slept in last night, not tickled at the idea of what else I had with me to change into. I didn't feel like wearing shorts and a tank top in front of Eric.

I'd noticed that the room smelled different when I walked in. Someone else had been in here. Given the security measures in this place, I wasn't too concerned. When I saw that one of the dresser drawers had been left slightly open, I peeked inside. All of the drawers had been filled with clothes; the price tags were still on them.

"Those are yours," Eric said from the doorway. "I had Pam get them for you during her break tonight."

"Huh. And here I'd thought she hated me."

He shrugged. "She doesn't like most people, and she's never been a maker; it's only been two hundred years since she was turned. She was not as resistant to the process as you appear to be."

"You knew her, back then?"

"I am her maker."

"Did she ask to be a vampire?"

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Not up for discussion."

I took that as a no, but didn't push the issue; honestly, I hadn't said it to be rude or challenging, I was just curious. Since that kind of killed the conversation, I went back to sifting through the clothes in the dresser, trying to find the least attractive thing to wear. Anything in the top drawer was right out: it contained all manner of lingerie, some of which I couldn't even begin to figure out. Thankfully I managed to find sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt in another drawer. Perfect.

Grabbing my new clothes, I headed for the bathroom to get changed. While I was in there, I washed my face and brushed my hair. I couldn't help but notice that I was even paler than I had been at sunset. My tan was almost completely gone now. Gran and Jason would be shocked to see me. I hadn't been without a tan since the one video rental store in Bon Temps got a tanning bed, and that was back when I still was in high school. Why a video store would get one was beyond me, but I sure made use of it during the winters.

When I came out of the bathroom, Eric was still standing in the doorway.

"Do vampires need to brush their teeth?" I asked.

He grinned, showing off his own pearly whites. "Not at all. Some still do, but they claim to like the flavor of toothpaste."

Before drinking from that donor earlier, I would have said that anything was better than the taste of blood. Now I wasn't so sure I could truthfully say that.

We went back into the living room and sat down; him on the sofa, me on something that looked less like a chair and more like a love-seat for one; it was huge, and I felt lost in it. Both were covered with dark brown leather, and quite comfortable. I tucked my legs under me and waited for him to start.

"I do not want to help you find your maker."

"Oh." I said, trying to not sound disappointed.

"I'm an opportunist, you see. Your maker abandoned you, and their loss might as well be my gain." He smiled. "I am willing to adopt you, to use a human phrase, but there will be conditions on that."

I could feel my brows scrunching up. Thank goodness I'd never have to worry about wrinkles. "What kind of conditions?"

"Simply put: you will act as if you are my child. This will not be as easy as it sounds."

Nothing about this had been easy, and I wasn't looking forward to things getting harder. But I was a Stackhouse; we were a long line of strong people. I could get through this.

"Um, okay. What does that mean, exactly?"

"You must always do exactly as I tell you, especially when we are in public. There can be no disobedience or hesitation on your part. You must never call me by my name."

I had a feeling I wasn't going to like the answer, but I asked anyway. "What am I supposed to call you?"

"_Sir_ will work for informal situations, such as when we're at Fangtasia. When we are in a more formal setting, you must call me _Master_."

I cringed. Yeah, I really didn't like that last bit.

"Understand this," he said, "The same would be expected of you from your maker, and any other vampire who chose to adopt you as their child. As makers go, I am fairly tolerant."

There wasn't really anything for me to compare him to, in that regard. He had been strict, but he'd also been nice. He'd provided me with room and board without asking me to pay for any of it. When I'd jumped him, he restrained me but hadn't struck me. And while I wasn't too happy with the trick he'd played with the first donor, I could kind of understand why he'd done it.

"What are the other conditions?" I asked, knowing full well that there had to be more, and that I probably wouldn't like them either.

"We will never have the sort of bond that exists between a maker and child, but I need to be able to sense and track you. For that reason, we will need to do at least one blood exchange."

I _really_ wasn't sure how I felt about that. Sure, I'd been desperate to chomp him earlier, but I was pretty damn hungry at the time. And the glint in his eyes made me think there was more to a blood exchange than he was letting on. Still, if it was a one-time thing, I could get through it.

"What do I get out of all of this?"

Eric smiled and looked proud, oddly enough. "I will protect and provide for you. Whereas most makers would take any money you made on your own, I will let you keep what you earn. I will teach you how to be the best vampire you can be."

Money wasn't that important to me; I'd lived my whole life without much of it. As long as I made enough to not be dependent on anyone, I was fine. Aside from my high school years, I hadn't needed too much protection; but if I was as interesting an _asset _as Eric claimed, I could see how that might change. His last bit sounded like something out of a vampire recruitment ad, but it wasn't disagreeable. There was only one thing I really wanted, and he'd said nothing about it.

"Can I still see my family?"

"How times have changed," he said. "Any visits with people you knew when you were human will need to be supervised by either Pam or myself, for the foreseeable future. But yes, you can still see them."

He was quiet while I thought about what he was offering. I didn't know that I'd get a better deal anywhere else, and after my actions tonight, I knew I couldn't get by on my own. Not for a while, anyway. I remembered being afraid, as a child, that someone might try to take me away from Gran. She'd never said it out loud, but every now and then I caught a stray thought from her. She worried that someone would take me away because I was _different_.

"What if my maker changes his mind?" I asked.

"What makes you so sure it's a male?"

"I wouldn't have gone off with a woman like that," I said. Honestly, I didn't think I would have gone off with a man like that either, but apparently I had. I must have been more drunk than I'd realized. "I don't swing that way. But fine, what if he _or she_ changes their mind?"

"They would have to admit that they abandoned you on your first night, and that wouldn't go unpunished."

"What sort of punishment?"

He laughed. "It depends entirely on who it is that's doing the sentencing. Some vampires are more creative than others."

From the way he said it, I didn't think I needed any further elaboration on that point. It felt like he was leaving this decision up to me, for which I was grateful. At the same time, I did wonder if it was the last one I'd get to make for a while.

"It sounds like we have a deal, then."

"You do understand that there's no backing out of this?" he asked.

I nodded. "Pam's been with you for two hundred years, and she doesn't appear to hate you. I may not be aware of the alternatives, but you don't seem so bad."

"I'm flattered," he said dryly.

"Um, I guess that didn't come out quite right…"

Eric grinned. "I understood what you meant, Sookie. I'll have the paperwork drawn up by tomorrow; you can read it over then. Once that's completed, we'll be able to get you your new identification cards. Everything will list me as your maker, and you should say nothing to anyone to contradict that."

"Okay, that makes sense."

"Are you hungry?"

I thought about it. "No, I don't think so. Should I be?"

"Not necessarily. It tends to sneak up on you before you learn to recognize the signs. It's not quite the same as human hunger."

"What I am is tired. It feels like I haven't slept in days."

A look of concern flashed across his face, but quickly disappeared. "Perhaps you should go lie down. Even if you won't sleep as a human would, you might find it relaxing. There's still another hour left before dawn. Let me know if you need anything."

That sounded like a good idea. I stood up and walked into the bedroom, closing the door behind me. I got straight into bed, thinking again how odd it was to not have to do any of my old before-bed routines.

The bed was extremely comfortable, but I felt lost in it. It was enormous. Then again, someone as big as Eric probably wouldn't stock his houses with tiny beds. I pulled all of the covers up and around me, making something of a nest for me to curl up in. The sheets felt as smooth as satin, but didn't have that sheen to them.

As I lay there, it started to bother me that the blankets weren't warming me up. Logically I knew that all they did was keep in body heat, and I wasn't generating any. It was just another reminder that I was different now, but that didn't mean I had to like it. It wasn't like I felt cold; it was just that I didn't feel particularly warm, either. I was room temperature.

I was tempted to get into a hot shower, just to feel the heat of it. But the last thing I wanted to do was fall asleep in there, and I didn't want a potentially more embarrassing repeat of what happened the last time.

I listened to the most miniscule of sounds. Eric was moving around in the living room. It sounded like he was typing on his laptop; writing up that paperwork, most likely. Other than that, there wasn't much to hear. Somewhere under or around me, water was flowing through an underground pipe.

This was nothing like lying in bed at Gran's house. It was an old place, and the wooden structure settled from time to time, creaking like old bones. There, the sounds of frogs and crickets would sing me to sleep. The wind would whistle through the trees. When it rained, the water would dance on the old tin roof. There was no getting away from some amount of noise, and so this eerie level of quiet was unsettling.

Eventually I could feel the sun's effects pulling on me. I closed my eyes and focused on the sensation. It was very different when I wasn't trying to move against it, and felt similar to how I used to fall asleep. I let myself drift down into the heaviness of it, and hoped that this time, I would wake up refreshed.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Arg! Fixed a silly mistake, many thanks to the person who pointed it out. :D

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**Eric POV**

After Sookie went into her room, I started writing up the necessary paperwork. It wouldn't take long, and it gave me something to do while I thought about the situation.

Pam had tried to talk me out of adopting Sookie. She was right on several points: not only did we not know who her maker was, we knew nothing of what Sookie herself was like. Most makers watched any human they were interested in for some time before actually turning them; even if it was only for a few hours, it was better than nothing. More often than not, the humans were completely unaware of being watched, let alone for what purpose.

We had no way of knowing whether Sookie's maker had spent any amount of time observing her. No way of knowing if someone had made that judgment call that Sookie would make an adequate vampire.

She was less than a night old when she came to us, and in her new state she barely knew herself. For the time being, we would primarily see the extremes of her personality. I was not comfortable with all of the crying she'd been doing. It disturbed me to see her cry, and that was unsettling in and of itself. I was fairly certain that it would cease with time. In her moments of strength, she exuded an aura of composure that was hard as bedrock; that is the side of her that I would encourage and develop.

As far as her abilities were concerned, I was already convinced that she would make an excellent vampire. She could read human minds and smell silver. Most vampires didn't start to gain their skills until much later, but skills related to the senses tended to be among the first to emerge. And her telepathy was something she'd brought over from her human life, so perhaps that shouldn't be counted amongst her vampiric talents. It was possible that she had more abilities on the way, but if she never gained another ability, what she already had was still more than enough for me to want to keep her around. Already her mind reading had proven to be beneficial. I could come up with a dozen more ways in which she could put it to good use.

There were layers of mystery to her, and I was intrigued by all of them. She smelled as no other vampire did; most of us didn't carry a scent other than the toiletries we used. There was a dry sort of non-odor, but it didn't vary much between individuals. With Sookie there was an underlying fragrance that puzzled me. Perhaps it was just a remnant of her human life and would wane with time, but it made me curious as to how she would taste.

If her blood was especially delectable when she was still a human, that could explain how she'd gotten turned.

Vampires can only somewhat be created by accident. There is a very specific way in which a turning happens: the human is drained of all of their blood, and just as the heart is giving its last beats, they are given the vampire's blood – almost an equal amount to what was taken from them is ideal, but only about half of that is required.

Most abandoned vampires had very young makers; more often than not, the vampire got carried away and drank more than they should have. In a panic, they would give the human some of their healing blood in an attempt to revive them. Instead of being revived, the human would end up turned. The turning process is almost undetectable once it is set into motion, and is nearly indistinguishable from actual death. Thinking the human to be dead, the vampire would then either leave the body behind or dispose of it. The new vampire wakes up alone and confused the next evening, and proceeds to wreak havoc on any nearby humans in their newly awakened state.

The maker wouldn't leave them alone in a hotel room with synthetic blood nearby: not unless they were confident that the human was turned and not actually dead.

Regardless of the fact that she had been abandoned, she still might have been turned intentionally. Abandonment with intentionally created vampires was almost rare enough as to be unheard of. Having been around as long as I had, it was something I'd at least heard of before.

When it did happen, the reasons were usually personal, and therefore not easily categorized. If that were the case with Sookie, the reasons behind it wouldn't be known to me unless we found her maker. I would need to question Sookie further about that night in New Orleans, find out more of the details. Perhaps there would be something that stuck out to me that she might not have picked up on.

If she had been turned accidentally, then the how and why of it were fairly cut and dried. But that didn't line up with the fact that they were familiar enough with the transition to be confident that she would, in fact, wake up a vampire.

The only problem was, whoever turned her knew enough about the process to not automatically assume that Sookie was dead.

Regardless of what I had told Sookie, I would be looking into the identity of her maker. I would find them, find out who they were and why they had done this. Whether or not I would confront them about it would depend on who they turned out to be. If they were a younger vampire, there was no need to be concerned. If they were older, they might return for her at some point. How I chose to handle that… well, it would depend entirely on how well Sookie adapted to her new lifestyle. In her less emotional moments, she was easy to get along with. But I required more than an easy-going personality. She needed to be able to fight well, to be able to defend herself. Pam was an excellent fighter, but she didn't care much for it. Whether or not Sookie cared for it was irrelevant; she just needed to be good at it.

The paperwork was finished, and the sun had already risen. I would be up for another hour or two, on account of my age. I sent off a quick e-mail to Bobby Burnham, my day man, with a list of some things I would be requiring. Technically, they were for Sookie, but he had no idea who she was just yet.

I shut down my laptop and stood up. I walked over to Sookie's room and opened the door. There was no point in knocking, as I knew she was down for the day.

It felt odd to know that there was another person here with me. Pam always had her own room in every house that I owned; she filled the closets with more clothes than a sane person would know what to do with, but she rarely stayed in any of those rooms.

Pam would at least be happy to have a new person to shop for, especially since she'd be doing it with my cards. I'd even let her get some things for herself, both as reward and as encouragement to accept Sookie. I wasn't above bribery, especially with Pam; she might be a spoiled brat, but she's _my_ spoiled brat.

I sat on the bed and examined Sookie's features. There was no doubt that she was a beautiful vampire. Her hair was almost the exact same blonde as my own, and her face was well-shaped. I would not disturb the blankets, but I had already seen enough of her body to know that it was quite lovely as well. I would see more of it soon enough, as her human modesty faded.

Visually, at least, I would have been proud to be her maker. It wouldn't have been my first thought if she'd come to me as a human. No, I would have seduced her until she was willing, and then had my way with her. Perhaps even more than once. As things stood, she was going to be with me for a long time.

When I created Pam, she was very much a sexual creature, but it was never an emotional thing. She and I are quite similar in that regard. The only times Sookie had given any evidence of that side of herself, she seemed embarrassed by it. I wondered if that meant she would be the sort who would try to cling to her humanity, or if it was simply because she was unaware of the way vampires tended to view sex.

Ultimately, I had more questions about Sookie than I had answers. They'd keep; she wasn't going anywhere.

Feeling the sun's effects finally beginning to pull at me, I stood up and left the room, closing the door on my way out. I went into my own room, stripped, and got under the covers.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

I knew the minute I was awake, but I was so comfortable I didn't want to get up just yet. With my eyes still shut, I stretched and rolled over.

And onto something. I felt it to get an idea of what it was.

It chuckled.

My eyes shot open and I scooted backwards so quickly that I fell, ass-first, out of bed.

"Damn it!" I knew it wouldn't hurt for long, but if I'd still been human, that landing would have left a mark.

Eric's face appeared at the edge of the bed, propped up on his elbows. "Not the reaction I was expecting, but good evening to you, too."

I rubbed the sore spot on my butt and squinted up at him. "That wasn't very nice."

"No, but it's not my fault you got out of bed. We'll have to work on your reflexes."

All things considered, I thought I'd moved pretty quickly. "What should I have done?"

"If I'd risen with someone in my bed who hadn't been there when I went to sleep, I would have tossed _them_ across the room."

"Right," I said with a snort. "Like I could toss you that easily." He was freaking huge. No way.

"Point is, you chose flight over fight. You also need to be more aware of your surroundings."

I liked to think that I was generally fairly aware of the people around me. It was kind of hard not to be aware of them when I couldn't help but hear the buzzing of their brains. But I suspected I'd be spending most of my time with vampires from here on out, and I couldn't hear them. That was going to take some adjustment.

One of the things I had noticed was that Eric hadn't brought any breakfast with him. It's not like I was expecting room service, but I was hungry and wasn't sure if I should ask or not.

I stood up and picked up the blankets that had come with me on my downward journey to floor-land. I smirked at Eric and tossed the blankets at him, but he moved out of the way quickly enough to not get hit by them. I caught myself staring at his neck as he sat on the edge of the bed, and figured I should ask about food before I did anything stupid.

"Is there blood down here? Or is it all up in the kitchen?"

"There's more than enough down here, but you won't be having any of that just yet."

There was an odd expression on his face, and I had no idea how to interpret it. My limited experience with Eric told me that what was coming up was either a talk or a test. At my current level of hunger, I wasn't really feeling up for either of the above.

"Come here, Sookie. Sit on my lap."

I heard the words, but instead of his voice I heard the echoes of another one. Instead of the fear I expected to feel, there was nothing but anger and hatred. I wanted to kill that voice in my head, rip its throat out so that it would never taunt me again.

"No." I backed up until I felt the wall behind me.

He frowned and looked at me curiously. "Sookie?"

"_No!_"

My hunger raged up and hit me so hard that my vision immediately went red. With a snarl, I leapt at him. There was nothing stopping me this time, and no hesitation on my part. Somewhere in the crimson haze, I was aware of being horizontal, sprawled over my prey. The most wonderful taste was in my mouth, even better than the only other time I had been at someone's vein.

There was a sudden sharp pain in the side of my neck, and my world expanded and contracted at the same time. I was spreading in all directions, but contained within a tiny sphere; there was something, some_one_ else in here with me: Eric. Oh, _shit_.

His emotions were as clear as the day I'd never see again. He was my new sun, and my world would revolve around him; something deep within me rebelled at the idea that anyone could have that kind of control over me. A strong fear began seeping into my very bones, and once again I felt like a small child trying to hide in the darkest corner under my bed.

Was I taking too much? I couldn't tell how much I'd taken, couldn't remember how long I'd been drinking. This could have been going on for seconds, minutes, or hours; time was no longer relevant.

The jumble of emotions were so tangled, I couldn't even begin to describe what I was feeling. Dimly I felt my hair being stroked, only barely heard whispered words in my ear. Safe. I was safe.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: This was a very hard chapter to write, and may well be just as hard to read. So consider that your tissue and trigger alert.

* * *

**Eric POV**

There wasn't much warning, but it was more than enough for me. This was _not_ how I had planned on going through with the blood exchange, but I know how to adapt, and how to do it quickly. It is but one of the many reasons I have lived this long. When Sookie flew at me in her bloodlust, I caught her and fell back onto the bed.

When I felt her mouth on my neck, I couldn't help but grow hard under her. I hissed when her teeth slid into my skin. Her curves were so soft against me. The feel of her pulling at my veins was almost too much to bear, but exquisitely so. Only two others had ever taken my blood: my maker and my child. This was a rare and dangerous intimacy.

My fangs ran out. I tilted my head up to her throat and bit.

Her blood was… different. Like nothing I'd ever tasted before. There was a sweetness to it that defied explanation. If her blood had been like this while she was still human, that would go a long way to explaining how she got turned: a younger vampire would not be able to resist drinking her to the point of death. Even now, changed as it was by her vampiric state, it was almost intoxicating. Something about it tickled the edges of my brain; almost all of my willpower had to be focused on not taking too much, so I pushed all other thoughts aside. For now.

The more I drank of her, the more I began to feel the connection growing between us. Instead of the lust I had been anticipating, there was anger, pain, and fear. While I might have been the trigger, I was not the source of her anguish. My own desire deflated: I found nothing sexually appealing about a woman in that state.

For that reason, I only took what was required to establish the beginnings of a bond between us. A bond between a vampire and a human is different from a bond involving two vampires. In the case of the latter, the effects are stronger, and only grow in intensity with each exchange. Whether or not there is an upper limit to that intensity is unknown: other than the maker/child relationships, bonds between vampires are extremely uncommon.

But I could sense that someone – or perhaps several people - had already taken advantage of this woman, and I would not add myself to that list. I pulled back and watched the wounds close. She was still drinking; I let her. She would need more, being as young as she was.

As vampires age, we grow more powerful in almost every way: physically, intellectually, and even emotionally; whatever vampiric abilities we have, they grow stronger as well. We learn how to manipulate and conserve our energy, how to become more efficient with its expenditure. Some call it magic, and magic it may well be: it was pointless to debate over terminology. Regardless of what we call this amorphous thing, it grows with the rest of our strengths. The stronger it becomes, the less is required to sustain and maintain it.

When my arms went around Sookie, I could feel her panic grow; gently, I stroked her head and tried to soothe her.

"Shh, you're safe."

Sookie made a noise that was either a gasp or a sob as she detached herself from me. Her eyes were dry, but she looked troubled. She scrambled up and off of me; as I sat up, she moved to sit in a chair in a corner of the room. I felt fear from her, but could not guess its cause.

"What are you afraid of?" I asked, keeping my voice low and gentle.

"I… I'm sorry, can you give me a minute?"

I nodded and watched her collect herself. The emotions coming off of her were a confused jumble; I was barely able to decipher one before it was gone and replace with another. Perhaps my experience with Pam would not be of use to me with Sookie; I had never felt my own child in such a state. Pam had been a cold bitch from day one.

I studied her as she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. She was breathing, and I wondered if it was intentional or out of habit. Gradually, the furrows eased from her brows, and her breathing stopped altogether.

"I still can't hear your thoughts," she said softly, "But I think I can tell what you're feeling."

"Yes. Just as I can now feel yours. That is one of the reasons for the blood exchange."

She rubbed her face with her hands before finally opening her eyes. The fear had been replaced with anger.

"What are the rules about killing people?"

I folded my arms and leaned back. "First tell me why you want to know."

Sookie's jaw clenched; she wanted permission, not discussion. I was glad to see the fighting instinct in her, but I needed to make sure it was tempered with reason. It wasn't a question of whether or not she had a good reason, more that I would not let her devolve into madness. Not that it was hard to figure out: she wanted to kill the person who had hurt her in the past. But I wanted to know what they had done to her. If I was to be any good to her as her maker, I had to know everything about her; I needed to know what made her tick.

"I don't want to talk about it," she muttered.

"Then it is a good thing I didn't ask if you _wanted_ to tell me."

Anger and resentment rose up from her as she stared at me, but her expression was blank. I could tell there was a lifetime of practice in that mask, no doubt a lesson learned from being a telepath.

"My parents died when I was young. My brother and I went to live with Gran. She's always kept herself busy, and when she needed someone to babysit us, she'd call her brother. He…"

Her voice trailed off, and the fear returned.

"Whatever he did, he cannot do anymore." I had a horrible feeling of what it was he had done, and suppressed my own anger so as to not scare her further.

"He molested me. More than once."

The pupils of her eyes dilated until there was nothing but black, and the darkness suddenly flashed golden before the blue of her irises returned. What the _fuck_ had she been before she was turned? And what did that make her now?

We were bound by blood, even if it was only the smallest amount. It disturbed me to feel just how much I wanted to cause lasting physical pain to whoever hurt this woman. I had felt protective of Pam when she was first turned, but it was never like this. Whatever it was I had gotten myself into, there was no getting out of it now.

Even more troubling to me was the fact that I did not _want_ to get out of it.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

For a moment, I hated Eric almost as much as I hated Uncle Bartlett. The vampire in front of me had done something to block me from sensing his emotions, but I could read him well enough to know he was conflicted.

I felt an odd power within myself. No longer was I a scared little girl; quite the opposite. Never before had I wanted to hurt anyone, let alone slaughter them. But if there was anyone on this planet who I could have felt those things for, it would be the person who squashed the last remnants of my childhood innocence.

Not that I'd ever had much of that. Being able to hear the thoughts of everyone around me meant that I was privy to all of their darkest secrets: the lies behind the kind words, the anger behind the smiles, and the pain behind the laughter. And above all, the fear of a little girl who saw through every last bit of it, whether she wanted to or not.

For years I had blamed myself for what he'd done to me, even though Gran had told me over and over that it wasn't my fault.

Bless Gran for believing me when I confided in her. The minute she knew of what her brother had done, she disowned him. Threatened him, even. What she didn't speak of was her own guilt over the fact that she'd thought he'd changed. He'd tried to do to her daughter, my Aunt Linda, what he succeeded in doing to me.

I couldn't bear to tell her that he'd molested my cousin Hadley, as well. Aunt Linda never explained why she had taken her daughter and moved to New Orleans, but I knew it was because of Uncle Bartlett. He didn't touch me until Hadley wasn't around anymore.

I didn't blame Gran for not getting rid of him sooner: she blamed herself for believing his lies. Her anger with him, and the thoughts she had of what she wanted to do to him, shocked me. The brave face I had put on after the death of my parents came back out, and if I was being honest with myself, I guess I'd say it never really went away.

"So? Now you know why."

Eric was silent. He stood up and beckoned to me as he left the room. I got up and followed him to a small kitchenette that I hadn't noticed before. He opened a small fridge and got out two bottles of blood. As they were heating up in the microwave, he stared at me. His emotions were still blocked off, and his face was blank.

When the microwave dinged, he took out the bottles and handed one to me after giving it a good shake.

I wasn't thirsty, but I drank it anyway: better too much than not enough.

"As much as I would like to kill him for you," he finally said, "I will let you do that when the time comes. But not yet."

"Why not?"

"Many reasons. You have never killed before. Your aversion to death has been strong up until now. His death will affect you in ways you cannot comprehend, and I do not know you well enough to predict them. In your current state, you cannot afford that. If you wanted to take out a random stranger who looked at you funny, I would gladly show you how and let you have at it." He took a long drink of his blood before speaking up again.

"In fact, I think before I let you kill your uncle, you will need to kill a stranger first."

I gaped at him. "You want me to murder an innocent person?"

"No one is innocent, Sookie. You, of all people, should know that."

Little Miss Contrary that I was, my mind instantly tried to prove him wrong: I ran through a mental list of everyone I'd ever known. For each person I though of, I remembered something they'd felt guilty about, recalled an event that I'd heard from their minds that they would never speak aloud.

Some of those things seemed silly to me.

Jason once found a wrist watch that belonged to another boy, and when a teacher tried to get him to give it back to the boy, Jason lied about it. It wasn't until they threatened to call Gran about it that he fessed up. He never felt guilty about beating up anyone who bullied me, but he felt bad about lying over a stupid watch.

But some of the things people carried with them, they weren't silly in the slightest.

Tara once beat up another girl, because she didn't know any better. She didn't really have a reason for doing it. Her own parents beat her, and while Gran would take her in every time she ran away from them, Gran couldn't stop the abuse. Tara never saw anyone tell her parents that it was wrong for them to hurt her; even though she had better role models in her life, she thought they were exceptions to the rule. It wasn't until the girl's parents threatened to press charges that Tara learned it wasn't okay to hit people. She carried it with her for years. For all I knew, she still thought about it from time to time.

Hell, Gran felt guilty for all of the time she couldn't protect any of us kids. She felt shame for not being able to help Tara more. Every time Tara ran away from home, she came to our house; and every time, her parents would call and yell at Gran. Gran would sit with her back to us, but I knew she was crying. I could hear her thinking that if it meant they wouldn't take it out on their little girl, her parents could spew their venom at her until the sun went down.

And Gran had her secrets. I would catch whispers of them at times, but she was careful to never think of them when I was around. She knew better.

The truth was that everyone had hurt someone at some point in their lives. Maybe it wasn't intentional, but it still happened. Some people were nicer than others, but we all had our shameful secrets. We all had things that made us cringe when we remembered them.

But wasn't that guilt a sign of them being decent people? If they were bad people, they wouldn't feel any remorse, would they?

I knew all too well that there were things that I couldn't think about when other people were around. Was that true for everyone? Do we all have something that's so private, we have to wait until we're alone before we let it come to the surface?

_Damn _it.

Yeah, I was glad vampires don't get headaches. This would have been a three-Excedrin migraine rattling through my skull.

When I was done drinking my disgusting synthetic blood, I rinsed the bottle out and threw it into the trash. Since Eric was done with his as well, he handed me his bottle when I held out my hand for it. I took care of that one as well, then leaned back against the sink.

"So… what are we doing tonight?" I asked.

Eric smiled. "Pam can take care of Fangtasia. Tonight, we begin your training."

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	10. Chapter 10

**Sookie POV**

Eric told me to get dressed in something that was comfortable and that I wouldn't mind getting torn or dirty. I had no idea what "training" entailed, but I assumed that's what I was dressing for. I wanted to put on some old jeans and a t-shirt, but all of the clothes that Eric (or Pam, rather) had gotten for me were new. Most of them were high-end designer labels – stuff I'd never be able to afford before. Even the black sweatpants I found were new, but I decided those would have to work.

Odd as it might sound, I missed my old clothes. Right then and there, I decided that as soon as Eric let me visit Gran, I was bringing a suitcase. Nothing beats a good pair of old, broken-in jeans.

When I was digging through the underwear drawer, I wondered how on earth Pam had known my bra size. Was she just that good at figuring that sort of thing, or had she...? Nope. Didn't want to know. For that matter, I had no desire to "train" in a red lace teddy. When I found that little number, I would have blushed the same color as the fabric if I could have. What did she think I'd need with that? Another thing I didn't want to know. There were some more every-day type bras, but even those looked expensive; I'd regret messing those up. I was glad to find a sports bra in the mix.

After putting on a plain black t-shirt, pulling my hair back into a ponytail and tying on some sneakers, my ensemble was complete. I went back out to the living room to find Eric waiting for me. He was wearing all black as well, but he had jeans instead of sweats. He grinned and told me to follow him. I was slightly confused by the laptop bag he was carrying, but didn't ask. If he wanted me to know, he'd tell me.

We went up the stairs, but this time instead of telling me to turn around, he showed me how to use the security panels to get in and out of the lower level. That small thing felt like a big step. It was one more thing to remind me that this was where I lived now. I could visit Gran, but I could never _go home_ to her_. _Oddly enough, that didn't make me feel like I wanted to cry. Maybe I was all cried out. Whatever it was, I wasn't complaining. Crying didn't give me headaches like it used to when I was alive, but it was _so_ much more disgusting now.

Eric and I went to the garage, but he told me we'd be taking the Lexus instead of the Corvette tonight. Shrugging, I got into the other car; it still had that new car smell, so I guessed it was new or he didn't drive it that often.

"We have some brief errands to run before we start your training," Eric said. "But while we're driving, you can ask me any questions might you have."

Wow. _Any_ question? There were so many. Where the hell was I supposed to start? I thought about that while Eric started driving us to wherever it was we were going.

"Some of these might be really random," I warned.

"Not a problem," he said as he shrugged.

"How long will it take before my emotions even out? It feels like I'm on some kind of roller coaster with all of the ups and downs."

"If you resist the changes you are going through, you'll be moody forever. Which, for you, is now a very long time. The sooner you learn to adapt, the sooner it will become easier, more manageable. Your emotions will even out with time and practice. If you try to fight who and what you are, you will always be at war with yourself."

Good thing _that_ didn't sound intimidating at all. Time for an easier question. "Why don't I blush anymore? I used to do that an awful lot."

"I'm sure you've already noticed that you don't have breathe or have a heartbeat. The main purpose for breathing is to oxygenate the blood that circulates through the body. No beating heart means no pulse, no circulating blood. No circulation means no blushing, in a roundabout way."

That got me wondering how male vampires could get an erection. After all, circulation was pretty necessary for that. But that was _so_ not on my list of things I wanted to talk about with him. I remembered from the blood exchange last night the Eric did indeed have the ability to get hard; as long as it worked, I didn't need to know _how_. Let it be a mystery for now.

Eric broke me out of my musings. "Surely that's not all you're wondering about."

I was glad I didn't blush anymore. "Um, no. Why don't we need to use the bathroom anymore? What happens to all that blood we drink?"

"Given that vampires are only recently revealed, and that most of us aren't willing to be guinea pigs for the scientific community, it isn't entirely clear. My guess is that our bodies turn the blood we ingest into energy with no resulting waste products. Our bodies are more streamlined, more efficient."

"Right," I said, "But when I got hungry before, I would feel tired. Which made sense, because my body was running out of fuel. Now there's that whole blood lust thing, and when it hits I feel really... energetic."

"As I said, our bodies are more efficient. Human bodies can digest different foods with varying levels of difficulty. The easiest are sugars and carbohydrates. Once those run out, the body starts to tire. If denied of those easier foods long enough, it will revert to burning fat for energy. After the body's fat reserves are exhausted, it will start to use up its muscle mass. As vampires, we only digest and process one thing. Consider blood lust an early warning system; if you can resist the urges, you can survive well beyond it without feeding, but it's not comfortable or pretty."

"Hold up a minute," I said. "If we don't do all that human stuff in any way, does that mean I'm stuck with this body shape _forever_?"

Eric turned to look me up and down. He smirked as he turned back to watch the road. "I see nothing wrong with your body, Sookie."

Normally I would have protested that kind of statement; most women had one thing or another that they'd want to change about their appearance. It was the gleam in Eric's eyes that kept me from saying anything, and made me decide to not address that part of the conversation. "Why do you know all that? I mean, with the way the human body works."

He shrugged. "I have been many things over the years, even a doctor on several different occasions. I also read quite a bit, in those rare moments when I have spare time. And here we are: our first stop of the evening."

We were pulling up to a small, one-story house. Eric reached into the glove box and retrieved one of many garage door openers, using it to open the building in front of us. He drove in and clicked the remote again, closing us in. There was one other car here, this time a jeep with a hard top.

"What are we doing here?" I asked as we got out of the Lexus.

"Swapping cars. We'll be off-roading tonight."

That didn't sound good. Where the hell were we going? Without further discussion, we got into the Jeep and were quickly back on the road.

"How many cars do you have?" I asked.

"I usually drive the Corvette, but aside from that I have at least one per house."

Good grief. That sounded insane. How did he keep track of all of them? "How many houses do you have?"

"In this state or in the entire world?" he chuckled.

He was serious. I'm sure my eyes were as wide as dinner plates as I stared at him, which only caused him to laugh harder.

"Sookie, you have to understand: after a thousand years, you can wind up with more money than you know what to do with. Land is a good investment, and it's always good to have a few safe places that no one knows about."

"I know we briefly talked about this before, but how dangerous is it really? Being a vampire, I mean."

Eric frowned. "In some ways, it is less dangerous now that the world knows we exist. We no longer have to worry about being discovered, but there are groups that would see us eradicated. The Fellowship of the Sun, for example. There are other organizations that discriminate against vampires, but the Fellowship is, by far, the most active and vocal. They don't have much presence in Shreveport, yet."

If there were people out there that wanted to hurt us, how would they go about doing that? From everything I had read, and from what little I had already experiences, vampires were strong and fast.

"I already know about silver and sunlight, but what other weaknesses do we have?"

"Fire is pretty bad, but not always fatal. Severe wounds from bullets or knives can slow us, but not kill us. We can regrow limbs, but there's no recovering from decapitation. Most of the stories of garlic, holy water, and crosses, those were myths that we ourselves spread. It was easy to avoid detection and assault if we could pass those simple tests. As you've already noticed, we can see ourselves in mirrors with no problem. Our image can be caught on film, which used to be a problem before the Great Revelation. Some older vampires still don't like having their picture taken, but that's mostly out of personal superstition or habit."

That was an awful lot of information, right there. I was trying to think of how to respond to what he'd said, or of another question to ask, when I noticed that we were pulling into the parking lot of Fangtasia.

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

"I need to send in your paperwork," Eric stated.

I shrugged and followed him in through the back door and into his office.

* * *

**Eric POV**

I had a policy of never sending work-related documents or emails from any of my houses unless it was unavoidable. I knew enough about computers to know that IP addresses could be traced to physical locations; it might not be as specific as an exact address, but there was no need to take any chances. I wasn't concerned about Queen Sophie-Anne knowing where I lived, but in the event of a takeover, any computer data she had kept would be available to her successors. Any computer with an internet connection could be hacked; I might not be able to do it, but I knew it was possible.

Since Sookie's paperwork was already completed, all that was left to do was send it. I told her to help herself to a bottle of blood while I scanned and sent the necessary documentation. As far as anyone was concerned, Sookie was my child; only her actual maker could disprove or challenge me on that.

I had felt an attachment to Pam when I first turned her, and it only grew as we spent more time together. The feelings I had for Sookie were growing stronger, but they were of a different nature. I felt more protective of her, even knowing that I would have to stifle those feelings during her training. If she and I ever parted ways, she would need to know how to protect herself. Sparing her now would only cause problems for her later.

She was far more insecure than Pam had ever been, and I suspected she would require more attention. Part of that was the fact that we did not truly have a maker-child bond. The rest of it was simply that they were different people with differing personalities.

I had some concerns about how the two of them would get along, especially in this early stage of things. Pam could hold a grudge, and she was patient when it came to exacting revenge. Boundaries would have to be established soon. Sookie had to learn to listen to Pam as much as she would listen to me, since Pam was older and wiser. But if she would appear weak if she capitulated too much, which would cause Pam to not respect her.

Pam had sensed my presence in the bar, and walked into the office without knocking.

"I thought you were taking tonight off," she said.

"I am. We're just here to take care of some minor business. Sookie is now my child, on paper anyway."

Pam raised an eyebrow at me and switched to speaking in Swedish, since Sookie was still in the room with us.

"You've decided to take her on? Is that really a good idea?"

"Are you questioning my judgment, Pamela?"

She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Forgive me, _Master_. She just seems a bit high risk. She's so... _emotional_."

I snorted. "She's a newborn, you know how they are. As young as she is, she already has two incredibly rare abilities that would be of great use to us. Were you aware that she can smell silver?"

Pam's eyes grew wide. "I've never even heard of that one. With that and her telepathy..."

"Exactly. And I have my suspicions that there is more yet to come. Her maker was a fool to abandon her."

She shrugged. "Their loss is our gain."

"That's my girl." I grinned.

Switching back into English, I told Pam that Sookie and I would be training tonight, but that I would have my cell phone on me if anything important came up. She nodded and went back out into the bar.

I stood up and smiled at Sookie, who was sitting on the couch, looking somewhere between confused and irritated. We silently went back out to the jeep and got back on the road. She seemed to have run out of questions, but that was fine by me. I knew she would not enjoy the activities I had planned for tonight. There would be plenty of fussing later, I was certain.

* * *

A/N: I did originally intend to have the training take place in the second half of this chapter, but the first half turned out WAY longer than I'd initially thought. I've already started working on the next bits., and with any lucky should have them up in another day or two.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: The wakey-muse has finally come back from whatever vacation she's been on. The good news is that means more updates! And answers to long-asked questions! And more sentences starting with conjunctions! The bad news... well, I have a better idea of where this is headed now. That's not an angst warning, just saying this will _not_ be a never-ending story. But, you know... things happen. Things called sequels.

* * *

**Eric POV**

Sookie and I rode in a pleasant silence for another twenty minutes or so. We were well out of the Shreveport city limits when I pulled off of the highway and drove off the shoulder of the road. I had slowed down considerably before leaving the asphalt, and I knew this area well; Sookie's gasping was entirely unnecessary.

The night was quite dark. The moon was high in the sky, but completely obscured by heavy clouds. It was no matter to either of us: we would be able to see perfectly in pitch blackness. That was a good thing, considering how much darker it would be in the woods. Once I found the slightly obscured trail I had been looking for, I turned onto it and drove for about a half mile.

When I turned off the engine, Sookie asked, "What are we doing here?"

"How much do you know about hunting?" I responded.

"You mean hunting animals? Um, I know a little bit from listening to my brother talk about it. Why?" She wrinkled her nose. "We're not going to _eat_ them, are we?"

I laughed. "Not tonight, and not anytime soon. We can feed from them, and there are some vampires who prefer animal blood, but the ones I know who do... they're not quite right in the head. For us, it would be a last resort. Do you know how to track creatures in the woods?"

"Again, I've heard a few things from Jason, but I've never done it."

She was really going to hate me tonight. For almost an hour, we walked through the woods as I showed her how to track different types of animals. Something as simple as a broken twig or a bent blade of grass could give them away. Footprints were a bonus, but not required. She paid close attention, but I could sense her growing frustration.

"Eric, if feeding from animals is a last resort type of thing... why are we doing this?"

I smiled. "I'll tell you when _you_ find this rabbit."

She scowled at me, but focused on her task. I hovered slightly above the ground as I followed her, so as to not leave any additional tracks that might confuse her if she got turned around. At first, she was doing an absolutely miserable job at finding the animal. Eventually she realized she could smell the beast: I hadn't told her to do it, but I could hear her sniffing the air. We were getting closer. More importantly, she was learning without needing me to tell her everything.

It might take a lot of work, but she _would_ be an excellent vampire by the time I was done with her.

I smiled when she went absolutely still. She had spotted her prey. In a blur of motion, she leaped forward and caught the rabbit in her hands.

Sookie turned to me with a grin; the rabbit was cuddled in her arms. "Now what?"

"Now I want you to tell me why _you_ think I had you do this."

"I'm guessing you didn't want me to get a pet bunny for Pam."

I couldn't help but snicker at the mental image. "I don't think she'd appreciate that. Try again."

"You want me to know how to track stuff?"

"Be more specific," I prodded. "Oh, and you can let the rabbit go."

Sookie set the creature down and watched as it fled. She sighed and thought about the lesson. That was a good thing: I wanted her to really think about it before she answered me.

"Well, we live in the city, not in the woods. And we don't need to hunt animals for our dinner, so this exact lesson has no real purpose for day to day life. Or our night to night unlife, whatever. Still, I can't imagine you dragging me all the way out here to teach me something I'd never need to know."

"So far, so good. Keep going."

"Keep going?" she asked. "Um. Okay... would this help me hunt in the city?"

"Yes, and that's something that may be helpful in the future, but our meals come to us at Fangtasia, so that's not the answer I'm looking for. I'm not going to give it to you, either. We'll do something else, and I'll ask again later. But I _will_ ask again, so bear that in mind."

I turned around and spoke to her over my shoulder, "I'm going to chase you, but I'll give you a five second head start. See how long you can stay away from me."

There was a rustle from behind me, and I knew she had already starting to run. Good girl. I would have been disappointed if she had waited until I started counting. After five seconds, I whirled and ran after her.

She was good, but I was better. I'd tackled her in under a minute. Sookie groaned as I lifted myself off of her, but didn't complain.

"Again," I warned her as I turned around.

For two hours we did that, over and over. Sookie did get better; each time I tackled her, I gave her a tip on how to evade me the next time: don't run in a straight line, use the environment around you, that sort of thing. On what I decided would be the last chase, she surprised me by jumping high into the air at the very last second.

I had lunged at empty air, which threw me slightly off balance. I recovered swiftly, but she tackled _me_ when she landed.

I rolled her over and pinned her to the ground. "Very nicely done, Sookie, but don't think it ends there. Now try to get away from me."

There was no way she would ever be stronger than me, but I was going easy on her for this. I wasn't even using vampire strength. Sookie had just gotten an arm free when my phone rang inside my pocket. She thought I would be distracted, and tried to club me with a branch that she'd grabbed. I quickly caught hold of it before she was able to land the blow.

"Brief time out," I said as I stood up and pulled out my phone. It was Pam; I opened the phone and pressed the green button. "What is it, Pam?"

She wouldn't have called me if it wasn't necessary, but I knew it was important when she responded in Swedish.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

Son of a biscuit eater, I never would have survived this evening if I was still human. The first few times Eric caught me, I felt out of breath. That was ridiculous, since I didn't need to breathe. It took me a while to realize that I was still trying to suck in air as I was running. Good habit for a human, useless for a vampire. Things got better after I stopped trying to breathe.

I tried shimmying up a tree at one point, in the hopes of confusing him, but I wasn't able to get far enough away from him to lose him in that fashion.

That's when I realized why he'd had me catch the rabbit: he wanted me to learn to be more observant, to be more aware of my surroundings. The poor bunny had been terrified when I finally caught it. Thank God Eric hadn't expected me to drain the wee thing.

The next few times Eric tackled me, I tried to pay attention to the sounds he made behind me. I knew better than to turn my head to look. On the last chase, I waited for those sounds and jumped just in time.

We were in the middle of wrestling, and I thought was about to get something resembling an upper hand when Eric's phone rang. I felt cheated by that, and tried to console myself by listening in. Even if Eric hadn't said her name, I would have known it was Pam. I could hear her voice well enough to recognize it.

The expression on Eric's face told me that Pam wasn't calling with good news. With the way he kept flicking his eyes at me, I wondered if they were talking about me. I busied myself with picking leaves out of my hair, to pretend like I wasn't eavesdropping. I could hear both of them quite clearly, but they were talking in Swedish. If they didn't teach me that stupid language, I would learn it on my own, just to be able to understand what they hell they were always talking about. I might not even tell them.

Eric finally hung up the phone, and I looked up at him. "Everything okay?"

"Slight change in plans. Your turn to chase me." He grinned at me, then turned and sped away.

Immediately I jumped up and ran after him. He wasn't zig-zagging like he'd told me to do. Maybe he was trying to make it easier for me; I didn't like that idea. I wasn't going to learn anything if he coddled me. After several near-catches, I realized he was leading us back to where he'd left the jeep. When it was in sight, he slowed and I tackled him as hard as I could.

We landed with a thud, and he chuckled as he flipped over and tossed me to the side. I glared at him. "You _let_ me catch you."

"Of course," he said as he stood up. "You'd never be able to catch me, Sookie. I'm always going to be faster."

That sounded like a challenge, but I knew I wouldn't be able to do it anytime soon. He offered me a hand to help me up, but I ignored it. I curled into a ball, rolled onto my back, and threw my legs out in such a way as to get me standing back on two feet. Eric raised an eyebrow and I responded with a smirk.

"I have _some_ tricks up my sleeve."

He grinned. "So I see. Now tell me: why did I want you to catch the rabbit?"

Glad to have already figured that one out, I answered easily. "You wanted to teach me to be more aware of my surroundings."

"Indeed. Very well done. Unfortunately, we'll be cutting tonight's festivities short. Business calls us back to Fangtasia."

I nodded, and we started walking the rest of the way back to the jeep. As much as I'd thought tonight would suck, it was actually quite fun. Frustrating at times, but it felt more like playing than training. I wondered if all of my lessons would be like that. If so, I wouldn't mind them in the slightest. Still, I couldn't help but feel cranky, like a child being told to come inside when she'd rather be out playing.

Once we were back on the highway, I realized we probably would have had to leave early anyway. It had been cloudy all night, and now it was starting to rain in earnest. It started out as a light drizzle, but soon it was pouring, with lightning and thunder all around us. I was puzzled: even when I was a human, I could smell the rain before it started coming down. Maybe we'd been too deep in the woods, or maybe it was just a rather speedy storm system.

Eric's fast driving was making me nervous, especially since he kept looking at me instead of the road in front of him.

"You had fun tonight?" he asked over the roar of the rain hitting the jeep.

"I did, more than I thought I would."

"What are you feeling now? Tell me honestly."

Couldn't he feel me through that blood bond thing? Wasn't that why we'd done it? I frowned. "Well, now I'm confused. I thought you could feel me because of that blood thing we did earlier. Before that, I was cranky and I didn't want to go to Fangtasia."

Why did he bother asking if he wasn't going to listen? He was paying more attention to the weather than he was to me. Sometimes he seemed so straightforward; other times, I didn't think I'd ever understand him.

"Sookie, tell me about your happiest memory."

I thought for a minute and remembered a few different occasions, but I couldn't decide which was the happiest. "I was quite young, so I don't remember it clearly, but one of my happier memories was after I went to live with Gran. We were in her kitchen; it was filled with the wonderful smell of an apple pie that she and I had made together. It was one of the few times that she and I talked openly about my mind reading. She told me that she thought it was a gift, and that God had given it to me for a reason. It made me special. I already knew that most people thought I was a freak for it, but I was so happy that she wasn't afraid of me. Even my parents had been scared to think around me, but never Gran."

"Look, it's not raining so hard anymore. Just barely spitting now."

"So it was a fast-moving storm," I muttered. "Don't change the subject."

"I don't think your telepathy makes you a freak."

I rolled my eyes. "No, but you want to use it. To use _me_."

I stared at him and waited for him to respond, to tell me I was wrong. I wanted to be wrong.

"You're getting frustrated with me."

"Yes," I grumbled. "You're confusing the hell out of me. You're allowed to change the subject, but apparently I'm not."

"It's raining harder now."

"So _what_? Let it hail for all I care." I folded my arms and glared out the side window. Screw him and his bizarre ways. Maybe my moods wouldn't be so all over the place if he wasn't jerking me around all the time.

Then it really _did_ start to hail. The white noise of the rain changed into a hideous clattering on the roof of the jeep. I was really grateful it had a hard top. We were just coming up to an underpass, and Eric pulled off the highway once we were beneath the bridge.

"I checked the weather forecast before we left the house tonight," he said casually.

"Let me guess, ninety percent chance of God's wrath?" I joked.

"No," he replied, looking at me pointedly. "Supposed to be clear skies."

"What? Don't look at me like that. It's not like I control the weather."

Eric gave a slight chuckle. "That's where I think you're wrong, Sookie."

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Just a quick note - this is not a Super!Sookie story. At this point, she has all of the abilities she's going to get (at least, as far as I know).

* * *

**Eric POV**

Sookie's first training session was educational for me, as well: I learned that she could be taught. I'd had my doubts, but overall she seemed more stubborn than stupid. The trick was to get past her hardheadedness, to make the task seem more fun. Again, Sookie was quite different from Pam: my first child wanted the bare facts in condensed form. The less time she spent on the tedious chore of learning, the better.

Pam was like me in that she was brutally efficient. She and I had our own jokes, a shared humor of sorts, but we never played, and that was something I enjoyed quite a bit. Sookie liked playing, maybe even as much as I did. The more time I spent with her, the more I felt that I would have wanted to be her maker, had I known her before she was turned. There were aspects of her personality, some more hidden than others, that complimented my own. In the process of teaching her, those were the traits that I would encourage, help her develop.

Before I could accomplish any of that, I had to ensure that I would be given the chance.

I was glad that Pam had started the conversation in Swedish, because Sookie was listening in. She couldn't fool me. A human might have bought the act, but I simply had too much experience reading body language. That was something else Sookie had to learn: not only how to pick up on the subtle cues of the people around her, but how to hide her own twitches and tells.

The phone call was more important than I'd let Sookie know: there was a conflict in the paperwork. Someone had already registered Sookie as a new vampire and claimed her as their child.

Pam didn't have all of the information when she called, but she was working on it. Given the nature of the situation, she wouldn't be so reckless as to inquire directly. She had other ways of getting the details. I hoped she would have them by the time we arrived at the club.

When the rain started, I masked my emotional response from Sookie. This wasn't the first time unexplained weather happened in accordance with her moods. As we drove, I tested out my theory by attempting to provoke different emotional responses from her. When she grew more angry or frustrated, it rained harder. Barely a minute after she even mentioned hail, it started hailing. I didn't need a hurricane to convince me.

If there hadn't been an underpass nearby, I might have knocked her out in order to get the weather to clear up. We had to get to Fangtasia as soon as possible, but if Sookie didn't calm down quickly, this situation could become dangerous.

"What?" she demanded. "Don't look at me like that. It's not like I control the weather."

I almost snorted. "That's where I think you're wrong, Sookie."

"You're saying _I'm_ doing _this_?" she asked, gesturing her hand at the hail.

"Yes. This isn't the first time I've noticed a correlation between the weather and your moods. Fog when you were embarrassed, thunderstorms when you were angry. Just now, when I had you recall a more pleasant memory, I could feel your happiness as you remembered it. The rain eased up when you did."

Sookie looked stunned. "This is just..."

"It makes no sense. This is not a known vampire ability: we don't control the elements."

Her influence on the weather only added to the mystery of Sookie, gave more credence to the thought that she had been something not entirely human before she was turned. I had a sneaking suspicion that was more like a sinking feeling, but now was not the time to address this particular subject. We had other situations to handle first.

"What does it all mean?" She sounded dazed, like she'd taken a blow to the head.

"Right now it means you need to get control of yourself. If you can focus on making the rain stop, that would be ideal. We need to get back to Fangtasia, and I can't drive in this hail."

She closed her eyes, took some unneeded breaths, and grew still. The energy around her was almost palpable. As she calmed down, the world around us got quieter. It was no longer hailing, and the rain was slowing as well.

"Very nicely done. I'm going to get back on the road."

She nodded and opened her eyes to look out the window. Whatever was going through her head, I could feel her trying to keep her emotions in check. Honestly, that was something she was going to have to learn to do anyway. Perhaps the idea of weather-related consequences would be good motivation for her to make progress in that area.

With that problem at least temporarily resolved, I let my mind focus on the other problem at hand.

It seemed likely that Sookie and I would have to go to New Orleans. Unless her maker was the Queen herself, then politically I would have the upper hand. I was Queen Sophie-Anne's favorite and most loyal Sheriff. I had taken Sookie in when her maker had abandoned her. Sookie had not caused any problems with vampire-human relations while in my care. If the Queen demanded the use of Sookie's abilities, I would work with her. Sophie-Anne was too busy running the state; she didn't have time to properly care for a newborn.

There were too many unanswered questions. First we needed to find out the identity of Sookie's maker. If we could find out why he or she had abandoned Sookie, that might be of some help. The bigger concern was this: why had they changed their mind? Was it an internal or external motivation?

If this could be handled outside of the Court, that would be ideal. If I had to fully reveal my reasons for wanting to keep Sookie, then the Queen would undoubtedly want to keep her for her own use. That was a fight I wouldn't win. I was quite skilled in the art of verbal obfuscation, but Sophie-Anne was Queen for a reason. If she requested a meeting with Sookie, I wasn't sure whether or not Sookie would be able to maintain that fine balance between "just useful enough to garner favor" and "useful enough to be acquired."

Sookie, with all of her skills combined in such a visually pleasing package, would make an excellent addition to my retinue. But I had gotten along well without her, so why was I so bothered by the idea of losing her?

* * *

**Sookie POV**

I was too stunned to argue with Eric about his crazy ideas. Me, control the weather? It sounded absolutely ridiculous. It had to be a coincidence. He himself told me that vampires can't do that type of thing. Granted, most humans couldn't read minds. Maybe there was a connection between those two things.

Just in case, I tried to only think happy thoughts as we made our way back to Fangtasia. I remembered the comforting smell of Gran's kitchen when she was baking. I thought about the infectious grin Jason wore whenever he told a stupid joke. Dinners together, where me and my small family talked about our days. The kittens I'd found behind the shed; Gran hasn't let me keep one, but I found homes for all of them.

Instead of missing my family, I focused on Eric's promise that I could still see them regularly. Perhaps once this business at Fangtasia was handled, I could talk to him about arranging a visit to Bon Temps.

Whatever the cause, be it a freak weather system or a freak Sookie, there were no more storms. We made good time to Fangtasia.

Pam was waiting for us in Eric's office. He held up his hand to interrupt her as she opened her mouth to speak. Taking a seat behind his desk, Eric gestured at the chairs in front of him, indicating that Pam and I should get comfortable.

"Sookie, I haven't yet told you about why we needed to come back. There was a problem with the paperwork. Someone has already claimed you as their child."

"What?" I gasped. "Who?"

Eric looked at Pam. "What did you find?"

She snorted. "The name of the vampire claiming to be Sookie's maker is John Smith."

"Wait," I said. "That was the name on the hotel room where I woke up. Are you saying that _wasn't_ an alias?" Did that mean I he _hadn't_ abandoned me? What if I'd accidentally run away from him? But that wouldn't explain the note. If he'd planned to return, he would have written something other than "_I'm sorry. There was no other way_."

Eric waved his hand impatiently. "What else have you found out, Pam?"

"This guy is an idiot," she answered. "He's only about 20 years old as a vampire, and he's still in New Orleans. He didn't fill out the forms correctly. He admitted to abandoning her, _on paper_. As best as I can figure, Sophie-Anne is only marginally aware of the conflicting claims. She's mostly irritated with him for setting a newborn loose on her city."

Eric grinned widely as he leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up onto his desk. "Excellent."

I watched knowing smiles pass between the two of them. "So uh, what does this all mean?"

Pam was the one who answered me. "It means that the situation might take care of itself. The Queen doesn't take kindly to people who cause problems in New Orleans. It's practically the vampire capital of the States, and any vampire trouble there gets put under a spotlight. Had you stayed in town and wreaked havoc, she would have sent you and your maker to your final deaths. Your leaving town saved you, but it might not save him."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that. I found myself wanting to hurt my maker for shoving me into this life. I'd never asked to be a vampire, and if given the choice I would have said no. Then again, most vampires weren't given a choice, from what I understood. Would I want him killed for it? If every vampire who didn't want to be turned was given the option of killing their maker... well, I had no idea what the statistics on that kind of thing looked like.

Eric could sense my indecision. "Sookie, this isn't your call. If the Queen wants him finally dead, then that's what will happen."

"What if that's not what she decides?" I pressed.

He waved a hand impatiently towards the door. "Both of you go out to the bar. Sookie, you need to drink soon. Pam, see that she does. I have some phone calls to make."

What? That was it? I didn't get any kind of say in this? The look on Eric's face told me the answer to that question was a big fat _no_.

Bearing in mind that I had to keep my emotions in check, I stood up and followed Pam out into the club. She went behind the bar and heated up two bottles of blood in the microwave. When they were done, she gestured for me to follow her to a booth.

I hadn't ever sat out in the club before. I felt really out of place, wearing my sweats and a t-shirt. At least they were all black. Hopefully there weren't any leaves in my hair.

Pam handed me a bottle of blood after we sat down. I scrunched up my nose, remembering how much better the real thing was. She laughed at my expression.

"I know. I don't like it much either, but we can't feed publicly in the club. There's a no-biting rule on the premises. State law."

"Oh." I didn't know what else to say. Pam and I hadn't really had much chance to talk. I think this was the first time I'd even been alone with her. Not that we were really alone in such a busy place. I listened briefly to the thoughts in the crowd, but there was nothing of any interest as far as I could tell.

"How are you enjoying Eric?" Pam asked.

I nearly choked on the blood I'd been sipping. There had been no doubt what she was implying. "Pardon?"

"You _have_ been having sex with him, have you not? I was insatiable for the first few years, and Eric is quite good in bed."

Had I still been human, I would have been near purple with embarrassment. "Uh, I wouldn't know."

She gaped at me. "_Tell_ me you're kidding. C'mon Sookie. Once the Queen decides to let Eric keep you, you and I will practically be sisters. You can tell me all about it. We can compare notes." There was a look in her eyes that was less than sisterly. It felt more like she wanted some juicy gossip. Granted, I'd never had a sister. Jason and I certainly never had these kinds of discussions.

"You think she'll let me stay here?" I asked, hoping Pam would go along with the conversation change.

She rolled her eyes. "Please. Now that we know the age and identity of your maker, what's to stop us from killing him?"

That was a good question. Would Eric go that far? Why? I mean, it wasn't like I was eager to be under the thumb of some stranger. That reminded me that Eric had been a stranger until a few days ago. I hadn't been with him all that long, and I still didn't really know him - or Pam, for that matter. "I guess I'd at least like to know why he turned me."

"Why is that important? It's so much better being a vampire."

I fiddled with the label on my bottle. "I guess I'm still adjusting."

Pam looked at my hands. "You know they say that's a sign of sexual frustration..."

Picking up the bottle, I quickly drained it. It was either that or leap over the table at her; she was starting to irritate me, and I hadn't fed since I woke up. Last thing I needed was to go all bloodlusty on her. "What is it with you and sex?"

"That's what I'm asking you, Sookie." Her grin would have looked more mischievous (and less ferocious) if her fangs hadn't been down.

"I think I have other things to worry about right now. For all I know, Eric is deciding my fate in his office."

"Eric is good at getting what he wants, one way or another." She winked at me.

I was just about to respond when I felt a chill, causing me to shudder. In my mind, I got a flash of an image: the hotel room where I'd woken up. Pam looked at me with narrowed eyes.

"Sookie?"

"That was weird. I just got the shivers. Vampires don't get chills, do they?"

"Did you just get a picture in your head?"

I nodded, and she frowned. "It's your maker. He just summoned you."

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I feel like I've been kind of fail with responding to comments as of late, but each and every one of them makes me grin like an idiot. You guys are so awesome. It's been fairly busy over here, but in a good way. The next few chapters are mostly-done, and my lovely pre-reader **blueiris** tells me that y'all won't hate me _too_ much for the cliffies and twists I've got planned.

* * *

**Eric POV**

Once Sookie and Pam were out of the office, I picked up my phone and dialed the Queen's palace. Being a Sheriff, I had a more direct line than the average vampire, but I still had to go through some brief security protocols.

Sophie-Anne didn't waste any time when she finally got on the line. "Northman. You are calling about the situation involving one Sookie Stackhouse, is that correct?"

"That it is, your Highness."

"Without a meeting for verification, it's your word against his. He filed the paperwork first. Why should I give any credence to your claim?"

"I will not lie to you," I stated. "I do not know about this other person, but I am not Sookie's maker. According to her story, she was turned in New Orleans and abandoned by her maker before she rose. She had been residing in a small town located in my area, a little backwater called Bon Temps. She knew well enough to not go home; a friend of hers dropped her off at a hotel not far from Fangtasia. She checked in there and came to the club seeing assistance."

"How did she know to go to you?" the Queen asked skeptically.

"She says she did not know. It was the only vampire establishment she had ever heard of. There is nothing for vampires in Bon Temps."

"Whatever," she snapped. "I don't need her life story. Are you going to refute his claim?"

"Only Sookie can definitively answer whether or not he is the one who turned her, but not without meeting him. If he is looking for her, he has yet to summon her. To answer your question: I would take her on as my child, if allowed."

"Why would you _want_ to keep her? Don't you have enough to do?"

"She is already an investment. I have spent no small amount of money on her. I have started to train her."

Sophie-Anne was quiet for a moment. "You don't _care_ for her, do you?"

I scoffed at that. "I only care that she does not cause problems in my area. Or in yours."

"Hmn. How would you like to see this situation play out?" she asked.

"Any vampire careless enough to turn and then abandon someone should be dealt with according to your laws, Majesty."

The Queen's light, tinkling laughter came through the phone. "Nicely played, Northman, but that's not what I asked."

I grinned. This was where I could seal the deal. "Were you aware that Miss Stackhouse was a telepath before she was turned? Before you ask: she has retained the ability, and she cannot read vampire minds. I have yet to test whether or not she can read other supes. She may not even be aware of their existence. If I were Sookie's maker, you would have access to a telepath, but without the burden of having to raise her yourself."

"Fascinating," she said slowly. She was silent for a moment. "Have any other abilities manifested yet?"

I had to be careful here. "The only confirmed vampire ability is an enhanced sense of smell."

It wasn't a lie: Sookie's ability to smell silver was a very _specific_ enhancement of her sense of smell, and weather manipulation was not a vampire trait.

"A tracker? How boring. I already have several of those, but I suppose another one never hurts."

"Her telepathy would be wasted as a tracker. Should she remain in my care, I would not choose to train her in that fashion."

"You speak so highly of her," she said dryly. "Perhaps I should meet Miss Stackhouse."

"Say the word, and we can be there this evening." I grimaced, but had figured she would make that request. It was starting to get late, but since the cold wouldn't bother either of us, Sookie and I could fly if need be.

"No, I'm quite busy this evening. I'll have someone call you tomorrow to let you know my decision."

We exchanged the customary pleasantries before hanging up. It was a good thing we didn't have to leave tonight, but I would make sure Sookie and I were fully prepared to leave tomorrow night. Even if the Queen didn't request our presence, there were other things we could be doing in New Orleans.

There were other business related things I could be working on, but I wanted to make sure my girls were getting along. Through the different bonds, I checked in on Pam and Sookie. Pam was feeling concerned and Sookie was distressed. That was definitely worth investigating.

I got up and walked out into the club. Nothing looked amiss. The two of them were sitting quietly in my booth. I made my way through the crowd and sat down next to Pam. Immediately, a waitress showed up, and Pam shook her head. I ordered two bloods, knowing that Sookie would need at least one of them.

"What has happened?" I inquired.

"Sookie's maker just summoned her," Pam replied.

This was an interesting development. I was glad I hadn't know of it when I was speaking with the Queen.

"Well," I said, looking at Sookie, "You are still here, so it must not have been very strong."

She frowned. "It gave me the chills. I didn't like it."

"Did you get an urge to leave as soon as possible?"

"No. Just the chills, and a mental image of the hotel room. I didn't feel the need to go anywhere."

That was odd. Either he wasn't putting much effort into it, or she was somehow able to resist the pull. Distance was irrelevant with a maker's call. Now we were most certainly going to New Orleans. The waitress returned with the blood, and I pushed one over to Sookie. She wrinkled her nose at it, but took a gulp.

"How soon would you like to leave?" I asked.

Sookie looked stunned. "What? I don't want to go to him."

"When you maker calls, you should answer. We can get there tonight if we fly."

"There are flights this late?"

Pam and I laughed, but she was the one who responded. "There are when you're flying Air Eric. Oh, quit gaping. You'll catch beetles like that."

Sookie snapped her mouth shut. "Flies, Pam. Not beetles."

Pam smirked; she knew what the saying was supposed to be, she was just messing with Sookie. That was a good sign. If she didn't like her, she wouldn't be teasing her.

"There's no way out of this, is there?" Sookie asked.

"Afraid not," I answered.

She sighed, but sat up straighter and stuck her chin out. "Let's get this over with, then."

That was the right answer. I grinned and drained my bottle of blood. Sookie tipped hers in a "cheers" motion before drinking the rest of it. We stood up and I turned to Pam.

"We'll have our phones with us. I'll text you with Sookie's number. The Queen is going to be calling tomorrow night; you can relay the message or give her my number."

"See you soon, then," Pam said to Sookie. She then shocked the hell out of me by giving Sookie a quick hug. Turning to me, she merely narrowed her eyes and dared me to say something. I raised an eyebrow at her, but I knew she could feel that I was pleased with her.

Sookie and I walked out the back door of the bar and went over to the jeep.

"I thought we were flying?" she asked.

"We are, but we need to stop by the house first."

* * *

**Sookie POV**

Eric drove in his usual madman style to the house, where he instructed me to go downstairs, grab a backpack and fill it with some different outfits. I had no idea where to find a backpack, but he told me there would be one inside my closet.

Thankfully I was able to remember how to get into the lower level; my memory seemed sharper since becoming a vampire. I never would have been able to remember that long code when I was still human.

Sure enough, there was a decent-sized backpack on one of the shelves in my closet. I quickly rolled up two dresses that I hoped wouldn't wrinkle too badly, a pair of jeans, two t-shirts, and some underwear. While I was at it, I changed into some clean clothes and gave my face a quick scrub. I combed the snarls out of my hair and put it back into a bun. Eric had assured me on the drive that he could really and truly _fly_, and I imagined that had to be a bit windy. If I left it down or kept it in a ponytail, it would be a solid mass of tangles by the time we got there.

When I went back out into the living room with my bag, Eric was waiting for me. He had a bag in hand as well. He handed me a shiny red cell phone, and I took it while looking at him curiously.

"It's yours. I have numbers for Fangtasia, Pam, and me programmed into it. You can add your friends and family, but I would ask that you not discuss vampire business with anyone."

"And by that you mean _don't do it at all,_" I said as I stuffed the phone into a pocket of my backpack, which I then slung onto my shoulders.

He grinned and tried to ruffle my hair. I ducked away and grabbed his hand, attempting to twist it like I would have with Jason; my brother was forever messing with my hair, and I hated it. I didn't know much about self-defense, but I knew how to put someone in a decent wrist-lock - especially when their hand was right above my head. I'd gotten Jason like that more than a few times. Trying to move Eric's arm was impossible; he wasn't going anywhere he didn't want to go.

I pouted. "You're no fair."

"Didn't your adopted maker ever tell you life wasn't fair?" he asked with a smile. "C'mon, let's get going."

We walked up the stairs and went out into the back yard. I'd never been out here. It was quite plain. Maybe if I stayed here, Eric would let me plant some night-blooming flowers. I'd always loved gardening.

I was surprised when he stood directly in front of me and wrapped his arms around me. "Hold on tight, Sookie."

I put my arms around his waist and held on for dear life, squeezing my eyes shut when I felt the ground disappear from under my feet. I buried my face in Eric's chest, slightly terrified by the sound of the wind in my ears; based on that, and the feel of the wind in my hair, we were going _fast_.

Some kind of rumbling in Eric's chest made me look at him. That big jerk was laughing at me.

"You know, if I was human that grip of yours might actually hurt. I'm not going to drop you, Sookie."

_Meanie_. I loosened my hold on him and pinched his side.

"Hey, that was uncalled for."

"You were laughing at me! I've never flown before, I'm allowed to be scared the first time."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "Not even on an airplane?"

I shook my head. "When I was growing up, we'd never had enough money to go on any kind of expensive vacations, and we didn't have any family far enough away that we had to fly to see them."

"Mm. What other _firsts_ might you be interested in exploring?" He asked suggestively.

Rolling my eyes, I thought back to the conversation I'd had with Pam. I wasn't going to dignify that question with a response.

Not satisfied with my silence, Eric rolled us in the air until he was flying with his back to the ground, with me on top of him. I shrieked as I saw the earth below us, moving so quickly that it was a blur.

He smirked. "Ooh, are you a screamer?"

"None of your nasty talk, mister. I'm not that kind of girl. And isn't this dangerous? How can you tell where we're going?"

"I've flown between Shreveport and New Orleans often enough that I could do it with my eyes closed. Most of the time, I fly like this; I navigate by the stars, as I did when I was human. It's a much more appealing view, especially now."

There was no mistaking the suggestive look on his face, but I chose to ignore it. He hadn't told me much about himself, so it was something of a surprise to hear him volunteer that kind of information.

"What did you do, back then?"

"I was what you would now call a Viking, but that was not what we called ourselves. I lived in an part of the world that is now known as Sweden."

"Ah, so you did that whole rape and pillage thing?"

Eric frowned. "We pillaged, yes. I have never taken a woman against her will."

I snorted, which made him scowl even more. "No, I believe you. I was just thinking that you probably never met a woman who wasn't willing."

"Hmn. This is true, although some were more stubborn than others."

His meaning wasn't lost on me, but I _so_ wasn't going there. "You know, you're more subtle about it, but you're just as bad as Pam."

"Has my child been putting the moves on you?" he asked, laughing when I nodded. "You shot her down, too, I take it."

"I'm not shooting anyone! I just have other things to deal with right now." Besides, Pam hadn't been coming on to me so much as she'd been pushing me at Eric. I hoped she wouldn't start hitting on me; I didn't need this kind of thing from both of them.

"So which team do you bat for, as Pam would say?"

Yeah, I _really_ wasn't having this conversation. "Are we there yet?"

This time, his grin was pure wickedness. "Oh, no. We've another hour or two to go yet."

I groaned and hid my face against his chest. This was going to be a long flight.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: There are a few surprises in this chapter that were surprises to me as well; I hadn't planned them, they just kind of happened. Not sure where those might lead, if anywhere. You'll see what I mean when you get to those parts. And don't panic too much about any cliffies - the next few chapters are already written out, I just need to re-read/proof them.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

Aside from the occasional break to take a phone call, Eric teased me for the duration of our flight. When speaking with Pam they both spoke in Swedish, but there was someone else he talked to in another language I didn't recognize at all. How many languages could this man speak? I guess you pick up a lot in a thousand years.

Those phone calls were disconcerting; we kept right on flying and Eric only held onto me with one hand, since he had to use the other hand for his phone. I still clung to him like a bad habit, which amused him to no end. He could tease me about _that_ all he wanted: I wasn't about to find out whether or not I would survive if I fell. It was the other innuendos that I could have done without. Jesus Christ, shepherd of Judea, that man was imaginative.

By the time we landed, I was almost embarrassed enough to really blush, and Eric was pouting slightly. I would have been amused by the sight of someone as big as him sulking, if I hadn't been the cause. It wasn't that I had no interest in having sex with him; I mean, what woman in her right mind would turn him down?

Given the week I'd been having, I felt it was fairly safe to say I wasn't entirely in my right mind. Even so, what was he expecting to happen mid-air, in front of God and everybody? We might have been moving too quickly for people on the ground to spot us, but I still wasn't interested in the possibility of giving anyone that kind of show.

And where had all of this come from, anyway? Sure, he'd teased and leered before, but nothing like this. We'd already spent a fair amount of time where it was just the two of us, but not in this kind of close proximity. Maybe he was just in a mood. Even thousand-year old vampires had _moods_.

We'd landed on the roof of a small building in a fairly busy spot of the French Quarter, right across the street from the hotel where I'd woken up. The area was only vaguely familiar. Tara and I hadn't been here long, and we'd started drinking early. Added to which, I was seeing it from an entirely different vantage point.

"Do you feel anything, Sookie?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, I do feel different, but I'm not sure how to explain it."

"Which hotel were you staying in?"

"The one where I woke up? The Inn on Bourbon. It's just across the street. Lucky guess, with the landing." It was hard to miss; the thing took up a whole corner of the block, and the lowest level was brightly lit on the outside.

"It's the French Quarter; if you came to New Orleans to get drunk and party, you'd be somewhere near here. Do you remember where you first met him?"

I shook my head. "I don't remember meeting him at all. I didn't think I'd had that much to drink, but maybe someone slipped me something."

"More likely, you were glamoured," Eric said softly. He was standing back from the edge of the roof, observing the throng of people on the street below.

"How are we going to find him?"

"We're not. He's going to find you."

Eric walked more towards the center of the roof, further away from prying eyes or listening ears. He'd landed us on some kind of club or bar that was playing loud jazz music, so when he started whispering the plan to me, it was a strain for me to hear.

I didn't like the idea of going in alone, but I wanted to get this over and done with. The first order of business was a change of clothes. There were dead bugs splattered all over my shirt, and I was afraid to know what my hair and face might look like.

Of course, Eric had no problems changing in front of me. Hell, he'd done it the first night I'd met him. When I tried to convince him to turn around while I changed, he made some stupid excuse about having to keep an eye on me. For my own good, of course.

I really didn't want to encourage him, but I couldn't seem to argue my way around or out of this one. Just because I felt like being a brat, I took my time pulling off my shirt. And oh look, I needed to straighten the headlights. Silly me for not having worn a padded bra. Couldn't go meeting my maker with wonky nipples, now could I?

He got a fairly nice view again when I bent down to pull a clean shirt out of my backpack. Eye contact only seemed to encourage him. I cringed inwardly when I saw the heat in his eyes. Even if I were going to do anything about his new-found fascination with me, this was neither the time nor the place for playing around like that.

Much to Eric's disappointment, I'm sure, I quickly put on my shirt. That done, I pulled my hair out of the now very messy bun, and ran a brush through it a few times. My hair had a natural wave to it, but the bun had crimped and curled it in some interesting ways.

"Hair up or down?" I asked.

"However you were wearing it that night, so that he can more easily recognize you. As your maker, he shouldn't have that problem, but so far I haven't been impressed with his intelligence."

I nodded and arranged my hair into a half ponytail; I'd worn in that way to keep my hair out of my face while still leaving some of it down. After taking care of that, I got my new cell phone out of my bag and stuffed it into the pocket of my jeans.

"How am I going to get into a bar without any ID?"

Eric retrieved a slip of paper from his backpack and handed it to me; it was a temporary ID that stated I was a new vampire, still waiting for my official documentation. "This will work for now. Keep it on you, but you'll want to burn it once you get the real thing."

Taking it from him, I slid it into my back pocket. He then pulled a wad of bills from his pocket, flipped a few twenties out of the roll, and handed those to me as well. I stared at the money for a minute before separating the bills, putting one in each pocket of my jeans. Eric looked at me curiously when I did that.

"It's safer that way. If someone pickpockets me, they won't get it all. If someone's watching me, they won't be able to tell how much money I have."

He chuckled. "Anyone stupid enough to mug or pickpocket a vampire deserves what they get. Consider it another form of natural selection."

Eric took both of our bags and jumped down to another building with a slightly lower roof. It had several large metal units on top of it; he picked one randomly and shoved our backpacks under it. That done, he jumped back up to the roof where I was, picked me up, and flew us to another roof a few doors down. We dropped lightly into a small alley, and when Eric gave me a quick swat on my butt, I turned to glare at him. He winked and silently made shooing motions with his hands.

I rolled my eyes, stepped out of the shadows, and slowly made my way down the street. Even for this time of night, the streets were fairly busy. This really was the city that never sleeps. No wonder vampires liked it so much.

I kept the side of the street opposite the hotel. From what I remembered, the vampire-safe rooms were on the side of the building that faced the inner courtyard. The huge light-tight shutters they required would have looked ugly on the front of such an iconic building.

We'd decided that I would go hang out in the Old Opera House bar, since it was directly across the street from the Inn on Bourbon. There were multiple doors, which meant more ways to make a quick entrance or exit if necessary.

I took a seat at the bar and saw that not only was this a vampire-friendly bar, the bartender himself was of the fangy variety.

He gave me a quick once over before speaking. "You're _new_, ain'tcha?"

I flashed him my best fake smile. "Yessir, I am."

"Shouldn't you have an escort?"

"He's around here somewhere. I'm supposed to be meeting him soon." I answered, waving my hand casually. "Don't suppose I could get a beverage while I wait?"

He looked relieved. I guess he didn't want a newborn vampire freaking out in his bar. "What's your poison? We got 'em all."

"I'll take a TB, AB neg."

"Ohh, lookit you, rattlin' it off so fast. I like a girl who knows what she wants." He gave me a wink before getting my drink out of a fridge and popping it into the microwave.

I was sure he was just flirting for tips, but he was nice so I obliged him with an extra fiver. He left me to my blood after handing it over, and I swiveled around on my bar stool so I could watch the room around me. I didn't recognize the band that was playing, but it was a local zydeco group. Not my type of music, but they were pretty good. The atmosphere was fairly pleasant, except for that feeling of dread that was bubbling up in the pit of my stomach.

There were several other vampires here, but none of them looked familiar. There were two female vampires sitting at one of the few tables pushed up against the old brick walls; they were waving their hands and laughing. I tried to eavesdrop from across the room, but they were speaking in a language I didn't recognize. Another male vampire was chatting amicably with a human companion; she wasn't glamoured into being there with him, which I thought was neat. None of them paid me any attention.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Eric walk in with a woman on his arm; she was human, and a quick check of her brain told me that he'd glamoured her into acting like his date. I didn't want to be so obvious as to look over at them, but I could tell that her hair was almost the same color as mine, and that she was maybe an inch or two taller. I kept her in my peripheral vision for a minute or two, but she kept facing Eric; there was no way to get a good look at her.

If he started making out with her... Wait, what did I care? He could do whatever he wanted. I had other things to worry about, especially in this exact moment.

I spun so that I was facing more towards the band and pretended to watch them. Another vampire came up to the bar, right next to me. He was olive skinned and had a middle-eastern look to him. After ordering a blood, he turned slightly to me. He certainly didn't look like a John Smith, but maybe it was an assumed name.

"Meeting someone?" he asked.

"Hoping to," I said with a small smile.

"Well this is a good place to meet people. I'm Rasul, by the way. Haven't seen you around before."

Damn. Not my maker, but he seemed fairly non-threatening. "Nice to meet you, Rasul. I'm Sookie. I'm new around these parts."

"Then you won't mind if I ask to see your papers." His eyes had taken on a flinty sharpness. Was there some kind of vampire police force? Why hadn't Eric warned me that this might happen?

"Not at all. You with the police or something?"

"Something like that; I am off-duty, but I noticed you were new..."

I probably shouldn't have, but I interrupted him. "People keep telling me that. What gives it away?"

He smiled, flashing his very white teeth. "You still have a slight tan, and someone with blonde hair and blue eyes wouldn't have naturally darker skin as an older vampire. Give it another month or so, and you'll be white as a sheet."

Great. I _had_ been thinking about getting a spray tan, but not if it meant people would be bugging me all the time. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the little piece of paper that Eric had given me. I held it up, but didn't hand it over. Without seeing some kind of identification of his, I wasn't to give anything to a stranger. "Sorry, I haven't gotten the real thing yet."

Rasul's eyes flicked back and forth from the paper to my face several times. Satisfied, he nodded, and I tucked the temporary ID card back into my pocket. When I looked back at his face, I saw him nod slightly at someone over my shoulder. I felt something come through the bond I had with Eric; I couldn't be certain, but it felt like he was trying to reassure me. Maybe the two of them knew each other.

"It was nice to make your acquaintance, Sookie. I'm actually here to check out this band, but I'll be over there if you need anything. I hope you enjoy your _visit_ in our fine city."

I smiled and waved as he walked away. Curious about what he'd said, I pulled my ID card back out. It listed me as residing in Shreveport, so Rasul probably hadn't meant anything by it. The section where it should have listed my maker, it said _UNK_, which I figured was short for _unknown_.

For about a half hour I sat there pretending like I was a simple tourist just out to enjoy a blood and a band. The knot in my stomach started to get tighter. Somehow I knew that meant my maker was close. I wondered if he'd be able to find me, if I had some kind of maker-child GPS thing going on.

My answer walked in the door five minutes later.

* * *

**Eric POV**

This insipid little fangbanger I'd picked up was really starting to irritate me.

I'd picked her because there was something about her that reminded me of Sookie. They had the same color hair and similar features, but they were nothing alike: this girl was a mess. The first question she'd asked me was whether or not I had any drugs; when I flashed my fangs, her eyes lit up like I'd just given her a car.

By the time we'd walked the half-block to the bar, I'd had to glamour her. I just couldn't take her presence otherwise. Still, she was so similar in appearance to Sookie, I pulled her into a dark enclave to take a small taste. Nothing more than a few drops from the tip of her finger, but it was more than enough; her blood was foul with the taste of the drugs she'd taken earlier.

"What's your name?"

Her glassy eyes stared up into mine. "Hadley Delahoussaye."

I wasn't much of a humanitarian, but even aside from her resemblance to Sookie, there was something different about this girl. "When I release you, Hadley, I want you to find a detox center and get off of any drugs you've been taking. Do something interesting with your life. You're not going to remember me telling you any of this."

"Okay."

"For now, you're going to be my date. We're going to go to a bar and enjoy some music."

"Okay."

It was a good thing I wasn't looking for a brilliant conversationalist.

When we got to the Old Opera House, Sookie was already in place. I had another player coming into the game, but he hadn't arrived yet.

The band was absolutely horrible. I could barely stand to listen to them; it sounded to my ears like there was a half-dead cat desperately trying to get out of the accordion. The crowd seemed to like them well enough, which just goes to show there's no accounting for taste.

Eventually Rasul came into the bar. He did exactly what we'd discussed, and it went smoothly. He took his position at the other end of the room from me. It looked like he wasn't too fond of this band either. Good thing he owed me more than one favor; this might actually count as two, for having to put up with the ambiance.

Sookie's maker showed up about a half-hour later.

He didn't look like anything special: average height and weight, light brown hair and dull brown eyes. I hoped he'd glamoured Sookie the night he turned her, because I couldn't imagine any sane woman being interested in him otherwise.

Without changing my demeanor or position, I listened in to their conversation from across the room.

"You got here sooner than I expected, Sookie." Even his voice was boring; he spoke in a flat monotone.

"Oh, yeah. A friend gave me a ride. I know this is awkward, but um... what's your name?"

"John, but you're going to call me Master."

I held back the growl that wanted to erupt from my throat. I felt Sookie's irritation, but sent caution to her through the bond. She couldn't hide anything from her maker, if he knew what he was doing.

"You're irritated with me." He was speaking in a low whisper, but at my age I could hear him whispering from two blocks away if I so desired.

"I'm sorry, Master."

"Tell me why."

"I was so scared when I woke up, and I..." she gulped. "I was angry when I figured out what happened. Now I don't know why you summoned me."

From the corner of my eye, I could see him wrap an arm around her shoulders. "I don't want to talk about it here. Come with me."

I had hoped to avoid that, but he was compelling her to do as he said. I felt her frustration at having to obey him, but she went along with him.

"Where are we going?" she asked. Good girl.

I heard his lips part, heard the _snickt_ of his fangs as they clicked out. "Not far. Back to the scene of the crime."

The hotel room. Shit. I made brief eye contact with Rasul; he nodded, indicating that he would follow me. I quickly released Hadley from my glamour and sent her on her way before leaving the bar. When I met Rasul outside, I grabbed hold of him and, faster than the human eye could track, flew us to the roof of the Inn on Bourbon.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: A few people have been talking about this John Smith bastid in comments, and since I've been so horrid at responding to reviews lately (I'm sorry!), I wanted to just give it a right quick mention: his name is not an alias. He is _not_ Bill. I don't hate SVM!Bill (TB!Bill is another matter entirely, and let's not get me started), but I don't like writing him.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

No wonder I didn't remember my maker from my last night as a human: he was utterly unremarkable. Nothing about him stood out. I had to wonder why anyone had bothered turning him. Maybe he was really good in bed or something. I hope I never found out if that was the case. He was _so_ not my type, and I had that whole hating-him thing going on.

Right up to the point where I actually met him, I wondered if I might find some kind of spark between us. Maybe there would be something there, anything that could give me some clue as to why I'd gone with him to a hotel room. Something that would make me _not_ hate the idea of leaving Eric. Even before meeting my maker, I had serious doubts about that last one, because let's face it: Eric was pretty cool. Smart, sexy, fun, and he put up with my crap. I didn't even know why he tolerated me.

Then this John guy, he just waltzed in, told me to call him Master, and somehow made me go back to his hotel room with him. It was like I wasn't in control of my own body, and I hated it. I knew he had that power over me because he was my maker, but that only made me hate him more. He had done this to me. If not for _him_, I could have had a fun weekend, gone home to Gran and gotten on with my living, breathing _life_. My life as a human might not have been anything to brag about, but it was mine. He had taken me away from that, and now he was taking me away from Eric.

As we walked through the hotel, he could feel my anger for him. "You are a feisty one, aren't you? No worries. I'll have you tamed in no time. First we'll have a little taste test to see if you're still worth the trouble."

_Taste test?_ What the hell? He opened the door to his hotel room and walked inside. I followed as if I were on some kind of invisible leash.

"Sit," he ordered, pointing to the bed.

Once I was seated, he held my chin in his hand and tilted my head up and to the side. He leaned in to whisper in my ear. "I forbid you from moving or making a single sound."

With that, he bit my neck and began drinking. He was taking long, deep pulls.

Could he drain me to the point of death if I was already a vampire? Frantically, I tried to remember the weaknesses Eric had mentioned; he hadn't said one way or the other if we could be drained. God, why hadn't I thought to ask? I might have kicked myself if I could have moved.

But I couldn't move. Not a single inch. I was trapped in my own body, not even able to blink. Above me, my maker was moaning in delight. When he pushed me back onto the bed and fell on top of me, my vision began to run red; I knew what that meant. It felt as if I was vibrating in my frozen state. He writhed against me, and I had never hated anyone so much.

A low, steady roar came from outside; I could barely hear it through the blood lust haze. The sudden flash of bright light from the window told me that it was storming outside. The thunder that boomed a second later startled John enough for him to draw back from me.

"Looks like we made it inside just in time," his words were slurred, as if he was drunk. "You are so _fucking_ delicious. I guess I _will_ be keeping you around."

He dropped back down to my neck and resumed drinking. Shrieks and yells from the street broke through the noise of the pouring rain, and the clattering on the windows sounded more like hail.

Where was Eric? Wasn't he going to come help me? Had he abandoned me as well? As I started to feel myself slipping into unconsciousness, all of my mental shields came crashing down. I heard one final thought that wasn't my own.

_Fuck, I haven't done it again, have I?_

* * *

**Eric POV**

Rasul and I got to the roof just in time to lose Sookie and John; they were already deep inside the hotel. I could only get the vaguest notion of where she was within the building, since neither of them were speaking. If I hadn't felt Sookie's anger and hatred through the bond, the clouds beginning to gather and swirl in the sky would have been a solid indicator.

That had the potential to cause problems on a much larger scale if Rasul put two and two together. That would be irrelevant if we didn't get to Sookie soon. The bond between us was growing weaker. The fucking bastard was drinking her blood. Was _that_ why he had summoned her?

I cursed to myself as I flew from window to window. That it was raining at all was bad enough, but the hail was painful. I heard Rasul drop down from the roof and turned to see him take cover under a nearby awning.

Finally, I found the window to the room where Sookie was. I peered in through the curtains just in time to see her eyes close. I couldn't feel her at all. John rolled off of her and fell onto the floor. If they hadn't been fully clothed, I would have killed him on the spot; regardless of whether or not he was her maker, she had been too angry to have been a willing participant.

The window wasn't locked. I opened it easily and slid inside. John staggered into an upright position, having heard me come in. He was drunk on Sookie's blood, and she was close to death. Rasul was in the room a few seconds behind me.

"What is this?" John slurred.

I was about to speak - or hell, to reach over and snap his neck - when Rasul stood between us. There was no hiding that John was strangely effected by Sookie's blood; it could not be explained away as him having simply had too much human blood. Even vampire blood would not affect him like this. On some level, Rasul recognized that. He looked at me apologetically; I knew what he was going to do, and I knew that he had no choice. That didn't mean I had to like what was coming next.

"On behalf of the Queen of Louisiana, I am taking this woman into my custody. John Smith, you are to report to Her Majesty's office at first dawn tomorrow. Failure to do so will result in most severe punishment."

I leaned in towards John. "Run. I want you to run, because I want to be the one to find and when I do, I will take my time killing you."

Rasul looked at me. "Eric, get the girl."

As much as I wanted to start the long, slow process of taking John apart, Sookie was my first priority. I picked her up, cradling her in my arms. If she was still in there at all, I couldn't detect it. I cursed under my breath.

"Go," Rasul said. "Take care of her and bring her back to the palace. You will have a place there. Queen's orders."

I looked sharply at the Queen's guard; this was not part of the plan. "We will report there before dawn. I must go now."

With that, I flew from the room. There was no time to waste. After landing on a nearby rooftop, I bit into my wrist and held it over Sookie's mouth. She didn't latch on; the blood just pooled in her mouth. I set her down and used my other hand to massage her throat, to push the blood into her. It was possible for a vampire to be drained to the point of final death, but her body gave no signs of that. Her flesh remained firm, her skin showed no evidence of disintegration.

When the wound on my wrist healed up, I bit it again and gave her more of my blood. I still had to coax the blood into her; she wasn't swallowing it on her own.

Two more times I did this, yet Sookie did not wake. I couldn't feel her at all, but she wasn't flaking away. She was in some odd limbo. If that much of my blood couldn't fix her, I didn't know what would. Perhaps it would only be a matter of time. Impatiently I waited, staring at her face for any sign that she was still with me.

The hail had stopped before we had left the building, but the rain continued. I took that as another sign that Sookie wasn't truly dead. Rain hadn't been in the forecast at all this evening, not for New Orleans. It also meant that Rasul wouldn't be able to report a suspicious weather event to the Queen and have it be traced back to Sookie.

Towards the eastern horizon, the sky was beginning to give evidence of the oncoming dawn. I picked Sookie up and flew towards the Queen's palace.

* * *

Rasul had called ahead, and the guards were expecting us; they knew me on sight, so Sookie and I were able to pass through the security checkpoints without being delayed. I was informed that Sophie-Anne had already retired for the day, and was shown to a light-tight room where Sookie and I would rest. Once the door was firmly shut and locked behind me, I set her down on the couch. We were both soaked from the rain, with traces of blood still on our skin and clothes.

Within a few minutes, I had a hot bath running. Once again, I gathered Sookie in my arms and brought her into the bathroom. Sitting her on the counter, I peeled off her wet clothes. While I had wanted to see her naked, this was far from how I had imagined it. I wondered if I was fooling myself; perhaps she really was gone. She hadn't been a vampire for a full fortnight; her body could take hours to turn to ash.

Once all of her clothes were removed, I placed her in the tub. Gently, I washed her unmoving form, still watching for a tic, a twitch, anything. I frowned when I saw that the wound on her neck, the one caused by John's feeding, had not yet healed. It was not bleeding, either.

John Smith had no idea what she was capable of, what she could do: he just wanted her for her blood. Though I could understand his desire for more, having tasted her myself, I could not condone or forgive what he had done. Sookie was worth far more than the blood in her body.

After shampooing and rinsing her hair, I pulled the plug to drain the water from the tub and carefully lifted Sookie out. I patted her dry with a soft towel and found a robe to wrap around her. She would still have her human modesty, and waking up nude after such a traumatic event could prove to be too much for her fragile emotional equilibrium.

If she was disturbed by waking up in a robe, with evidence that I had seen and touched her naked body... well, I would happily let her yell at me for that. It would be better than the alternative of never hearing her voice again. I couldn't explain why I felt that so strongly, but there were other things to attend to before I could take the time to examine this strange reaction.

It did occur to me that I would have felt the same if this were Pam instead of Sookie.

I carried Sookie over to the bed and tucked her under the covers before noticing that I was still in my own damp and dirty clothing. Since there was nothing more I could do for her right now, I stripped and took a quick shower. I wrung out our wet clothes and hung them up in the bathroom. No doubt there were other outfits to be found in the palace, but I had no intention of relying on the Queen's hospitality any more than we had to.

Still naked, I got under the covers and lay in the large, soft bed with Sookie. Scooted closer, I wrapped my body around her tiny frame, with an arm around her waist and a leg over one of hers. If anyone came in and disturbed her during the day, it would be enough to rouse me from my rest; they would not live to regret it.

Sookie still hadn't risen, but now she wouldn't have the opportunity to do so for quite some time: the sun had been up for at least an hour. I closed my eyes and let the day take me under.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Brief ramble about Sophie-Anne, here. Maybe it's because of her name, but until watching TB, I was never really inclined to read her as a fully malicious character. She's devious, cunning, self-serving, and can be ruthless when the situation calls for it... much like Eric can be. They just have different interests and priorities. This isn't to say that she's a fluffy bunny in this story - far from it. In any case, that's how I'm trying to write her.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

I woke up in darkness.

No, it wasn't dark. I just hadn't opened my eyes yet. I remembered what happened, thought about what sort of life was ahead of me. John was just going to keep me around for my blood. Every night, he would drain me, and every sunset I would wake up only to do it all over again.

I felt a hand lightly brush my face, bringing me out of my thoughts. I opened my eyes and...

"Eric?"

"I thought you were dead," he whispered.

"Of course I'm dead. I'm a vampire. What are you doing here?" I looked around and realized we weren't in the hotel room anymore. "And where's _here_, for that matter?"

"We're at the Queen's palace. You're safe." His eyes were shining, and his face bore an expression I couldn't interpret. The bond between us felt stronger, and his emotions were coming through in such a jumble that I couldn't get really tell what he was feeling.

"Did you give me more of your blood?"

He nodded. "You would be here talking to me if i had not; you would have met your final death."

My hand instinctively went up to my neck, to touch the spot where John had bitten me. The marks were gone. It was going to take me a while to get used to that fast healing thing.

I sat up and realized that instead of my clothes, I was in a robe. "Did you..."

"It was still raining when we left the hotel, and you were quite bloodied. I cleaned you up."

"And we didn't..."

He frowned. "Sookie, I would never take advantage of you. I cleaned you up and put you in bed. Besides," he said, his voice become more teasing, "Even if you had been awake, we arrived here just before dawn. There wouldn't have been _nearly_ enough time."

I wanted to roll my eyes at that last bit, but instead I gave him a small smile. "Thank you for taking care of me."

Eric grinned briefly, but it disappeared quickly. "Come, we must get ready. Our clothes are dry, but we shouldn't wear those to meet Sophie-Anne. There isn't time to retrieve our backpacks, but someone delivered some alternatives earlier."

With that, he got up out of bed. It was impossible to _not_ notice that he was naked, and quite difficult to not stare at his gorgeous behind. Sensing my discomfort and desire, he looked over his shoulder and laughed. I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him.

"What? There was another robe, but it was too small for me." He grinned.

That time, I did roll my eyes. I got up out of bed and walked over to a portable clothes rack that was by the door. On it were several dresses in varying styles, as well as a selection of suits for Eric.

"I've never met a Queen before. Which of these should I wear?"

"Any of them would be appropriate. They were selected with the understanding that you would be meeting with her. If you're asking my opinion, I rather like the red one."

I pulled the red one off the rack to get a better look at it. It was a dark red strapless dress with a tight bodice and a long, flowing skirt. It was beautiful, but I frowned.

"I can't wear this."

Eric was in the process of putting on a dark gray suit that was almost black. Thank God he'd already put on the pants, so I could look at him again. "Why not?

"I don't have a bra that I can wear with it."

He smirked. "So don't wear one. Listen, whichever dress you choose, we don't have much time. Last night John drained you almost to the point of final death..."

I felt a knot in the pit of my stomach and decided I didn't care about bras or dresses. I'd just wear the red one and not care.

"So I really could have died, then?"

"Yes. He's been ordered to report to the Queen tonight. There's going to be a... a meeting. I'll be there, but I need you to be careful of what you say. When in doubt, let me speak for you. We haven't really had a chance to go over protocols yet."

I was confused by this. Keeping my voice to a whisper, I asked, "Are we in danger?"

"No. Just remember that there are ears everywhere," he responded quietly, giving me a pointed look.

I nodded. I wished we'd had a chance to go over this kind of thing before now. I took the dress and walked over towards the bathroom.

"I'll be right back," I said. "I just need to get changed."

Eric snickered. "Sookie, do you think I'm going to see anything I haven't seen before?"

"You've never seen me put on this red dress, and you're not going to," I said as I closed the door.

The clothes I'd worn last night were folded and sitting on the counter next to the sink. They felt a bit stiff and looked a bit dirty, but they'd be fine for the trip back to Shreveport. I just hoped that would be soon. These clothes that Eric had bought for me, they suddenly felt more like mine. When I first put them on, they didn't feel that way; they were the only familiar thing in this strange setting, and I couldn't wait to be able to wear them again.

I slipped out of the robe, hung it on the back of the door, and stepped into the dress. It fit perfectly and turned out to have a built-in strapless bra. It seemed strange that they would keep different sizes and styles of clothing around for guests. Or had someone purchased this specifically for me? There were no tags on it, but it didn't appear to have been worn before – at least, not as far as I could tell. I decided to think of it as a costume, like the one I'd rented from the costume shop in Monroe, last Halloween.

Once I was dressed, I brushed my hair and used some bobby pins to put it back into a french twist. Eric was fully dressed, and his long hair was now tied back in an elaborate braid.

"How do I look?" I asked.

Eric turned to answer me, but didn't immediately respond. "Eric?"

He took a long, slow look at me before answering. "Take your hair own. You don't want to display your neck."

Huh? Okay, whatever. I'd ask him later what the "protocols" about that were. I went back to the mirror, took out all of the bobby pins, and ran the brush through my hair a few times to see if I could get it to look good. It was obvious to me that I'd slept on wet hair, but maybe it wouldn't look too bad.

Going back out into the bedroom, I found that there were shoes to match the dress, sitting on the floor near the rack of clothes. Even those fit properly, and by looking at the bottoms I could tell they'd never been worn. Very odd, indeed.

Eric was already finished dressing, just waiting for me. "Are you ready?"

"I think so. Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Nothing that shouldn't go without saying: don't mouth of to the Queen, be on your best behavior. Remember that you are the lowest ranked vampire in the room and act accordingly. Pay attention to the emotions I send your way."

"All right," I said. "Let's get this over with."

He grinned at me and opened the door.

* * *

**Eric POV**

Were this not such an important meeting, I would have tried to find a way to delay it for a few hours. Seeing Sookie in that dress make me want to do many things with her, but not with an audience. It only made me that much more determined to win this fight.

Sookie followed me as we made our way down to Sophie-Anne's receiving room. We were shown in immediately.

Sophie-Anne was finely dressed and lounging on a chaise; aside from the guards posted at the door, it was just the three of us. I bowed, and was pleased when Sookie followed my lead with curtsy.

"Evening, Northman. Sookie, I heard about last night, and am pleased that you're still with us." Sophie-Anne looked back at me. "John Smith is waiting in the next room. Before I send for him, what would you like to tell me?"

"From what I learned last night, I believe he turned Sookie after accidentally draining her. I cannot explain why he abandoned her, but I believe he summoned her solely for her blood. Ordinarily it is no business of mine what a maker does with their child..."

The Queen interrupted me. "But Sookie is not an average vampire. Sookie, do you see that guard to the left of the main door? I would like you to tell me what he is thinking."

Sookie looked at the guard in question and tilted her head as if she were listening for a very quiet sound. Turning back to Sophie-Anne, she responded, "I hear nothing, Your Majesty."

"What about the guard on the right?"

Sookie looked at the other guard, who I knew to be a Were. "That's... odd. I can pick up on his thoughts, but they aren't clear. They're more colors and patterns, with the occasional image flashing through."

"Hmn." The Queen looked skeptical. She looked at one of the guards and nodded. He left the room and soon returned with two humans – one man, one woman.

"You must be hungry, Sookie," she said. "After you read their minds, you can drink from them."

This had to be a test, no doubt similar to the one I had tried; I sent caution through the bond.

Sookie looked at the two humans, frowned, and then put her hands on the man's shoulders. "This one has been glamoured, so his thoughts are muddled. He keeps repeating lyrics to a song: '_there must be some kinda way outta here said the joker to the thief, there's too much confusion, I can't get no relief'_... I don't recognize it, but that's all he's thinking."

Sophie-Anne looked shocked. "How are you _not_ a Hendrix fan? Hmm. Maybe you're too young. Right, then. What about the woman?"

Sookie lifted her hands from the man's shoulders and moved towards the woman. She didn't touch her, but tilted her head again. I hadn't noticed her doing that before; if that was a tell of hers, I would have to train her to not do that in the future.

"I... I'm sorry, she's mostly thinking in another language. It sounds like Russian, but I did pick up one word. Your Majesty, if I'm reading her correctly, I think she might have sino-AIDS."

The woman's expression went from startled to terrified. Queen Sophie-Anne looked furious as she turned to the guard who had escorted them in. "Take this one downstairs and instruct them to have her tested. Take the man as well."

With a fair amount of screaming and flailing, the human woman was taken from the room. The man went quietly and with no prodding; he was still heavily glamoured.

Sookie had remained outwardly calm throughout all of this. She had felt suspicious when the Queen offered her two humans to drink from, and was probably prepared for the Queen to test her as I had.

"How embarrassing," Sophie-Anne stated. "But never mind that. You really _are_ a telepath. Is that why your maker turned you?"

Sookie shook her head. "Not as far as I know, Your Majesty. I don't remember anything from that night, and he was gone when I woke up like this. He left a note, but it didn't explain anything."

"What did the note say?"

"It said 'I'm sorry. There was no other way.'"

Sophie-Anne stood up and moved over to her throne. She gestured for us to come stand in front of her, but slightly to the side. We moved to where she had indicated, and she ordered one of the guards to bring in John Smith.

I could barely keep from growling when I saw him. He looked nervous, which pleased me greatly. The guard placed him several feet away from us, but equal distance from the Queen.

"Smith, you claim to be Sookie's maker, is that correct?"

"Yes, it is."

Sophie-Anne frowned. The man had neither bowed nor addressed her properly. She hadn't corrected him on either of these points: she was letting him have as much as he wanted to hang himself with. This might be easier than I expected.

"Why did you create and abandon a vampire in my city?" she demanded.

John fidgeted slightly. "I drained her by accident, and didn't want to kill her. I turned her to save her life. When I realized what I'd done, I panicked and ran."

"And yet you summoned her several days later. Why?"

"Her blood is the most delicious I have ever had," he responded quickly.

Sophie-Anne raised an eyebrow and looked at me. "Northman, have you tasted her?"

"I have, Your Majesty."

"And?"

I shrugged. "I felt no desire to drain her for it."

The Queen addressed Sookie next. "Do you identify that man," she pointed at John, "As your maker?"

Sookie paused, as if she wasn't certain how to answer. "I can't be certain, Your Majesty. I did feel my maker summon me to New Orleans, but I have no way to visually identify him."

Sophie-Anne laughed. "John, if you are indeed her maker, you should be able to compel her. Do it. Compel her to stand by you."

John stared at Sookie. "Come here."

To my amazement, Sookie didn't move. She just looked at me as confusion and relief flooded the bond.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	17. Chapter 17

**Sookie POV**

"Sookie, come here _now_." John repeated.

I stayed exactly where I was. Either he wasn't really doing it, or he'd done something differently last night.

The Queen was watching me with an amused expression on her face. "Sookie, are you fighting the compulsion?"

"No, Your Majesty. I just... don't feel anything."

"Well, I do believe that settles _that_. Northman, since Smith is obviously not Sookie's maker, the paperwork will go through with your name on it."

Eric smiled and bowed, but didn't speak. I could tell he was pleased; I was almost ecstatic, and almost had to struggle to not jump around squealing like a little girl. I was so relieved that I wouldn't have to go with that creep. I watched with delight as the Queen had John escorted out, with orders to take him downstairs. That didn't sound good for him. I couldn't bring myself to feel bad about it.

"Before I let you two leave," the Queen said, "Northman, I will be sending Mr Cataliades to see you within the week. He will be there to negotiate a contract for Sookie's services as a telepath. From what I've observed tonight, I believe that she can fully read humans, partially read Weres, and is completely unable to read vampires. Start testing her tomorrow night to verify that."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Eric replied. I stayed quiet. I wasn't sure how I felt about working for the Queen, but she it didn't look like I had much choice.

"I have other matters to which I must attend. You both may return to Shreveport." With a wave, we were dismissed.

Eric and I bowed and curtsied, then turned and walked out of the room. I followed him back to the room where we'd rested; he didn't speak until the door was closed.

"Very well done, Sookie," he said, pulling me into a hug which I happily returned. "Let's get changed and get out of here," he said with a grin.

I nodded and went into the bathroom. When I tried to close the door, Eric stepped in and winked.

"Hey, I was going to change in here!"

He rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, but I could feel his amusement. "Fine. Just let me get my own clothes first."

Eric picked up his clothes and left, closing the bathroom door behind him. I shimmied out of the dress and hung it back up. As stiff and stained as my other clothes were, it was a relief to be wearing them again. I found some elastic bands and used them to put my hair back into a tight bun.

When I came back out into the bedroom, Eric was just pulling on his jeans. He turned and grinned at me. I rolled my eyes when he tried to look innocent.

We left the Queen's palace on foot, and didn't take to the air until we had passed through the front gates. Our first stop was the roof where Eric had stashed our backpacks. They were still there, but thoroughly soaked and starting to smell. There was nothing except clothing in them; I didn't like the idea of just leaving them there, but I didn't want to fly with a wet smelly lump on my back. After I fussed about wasting perfectly good clothes, Eric grabbed the bags and tossed them over the edge of the building.

I couldn't argue with that. Someone would find and use them. We made a brief stop into a nearby convenience store, where Eric picked up a four-pack of True Blood. He drank one and made me drink the other three. I glared at him the whole time. I didn't feel hungry, and I really hated this stuff. It was actually surprising how not-hungry I was, but from what he told me, I'd had a lot of Eric's blood last night.

While I drank, he called Pam to inform her that we would be back in a few hours; he didn't give any details of what all had happened. She sounded bored, but he assured me that she was quite pleased. After I drained the last bottle, Eric picked me up and we took off for Shreveport.

This flight was much like the first, except without the phone calls. I clung to him like a sticky burr, and he teased me until I thought my ears were going to burn to a crisp. About an hour after we'd left New Orleans, he rolled us over mid-air, so that I was dangling under him. With a shriek, I wrapped my legs around his and called him every name I could think of. He laughed so hard, I thought we were going to crash.

"Eric, you big a-hole, this _isn't funny!_"

The jerk was actually giggling as he rolled us back over. "Oh, the look on your face was quite amusing. You would have laughed, too."

As frightened and mad as I was, I was fighting to not smile; his amusement was crashing through the bond. "Okay, be serious for a minute. I know this bond thing we've got is stronger right now. Is that because of the blood you gave me last night?"

He nodded. "Since it was not a mutual exchange, it may wear off in time. Actually..." he stopped and appeared thoughtful.

"What?"

"You were almost completely drained. My blood is strong, but I'm still surprised the bond survived at all."

"What does that mean?"

I almost see gears turning inside his head. "It means I'm going to try something."

Eric pulled me up so that my face was closer to his. He looked up at me, his eyes intensely gazing into mine. "Sookie, kiss me."

I wanted to laugh and pinch him, but the urge to kiss him hit me like a ton of bricks. I couldn't resist. As if someone was pushing me, I leaned in and pressed my lips against his. Shocked, I let go of him and, not thinking of the potential consequences, tried to push him away. His arms tightened around me, but he at least let me move so that my head was farther away from his.

"Eric, what the hell?" I shouted.

"It was a test. You didn't want to kiss me, did you?"

Stunned, I wasn't sure how to respond. It wasn't that I didn't want to kiss him, more like I felt like I had to, like I didn't have the option of doing anything else.

"It was like something made me do it," I finally said.

"Sookie, the vampire who turned you couldn't compel you, but I just did."

* * *

**Eric POV**

I hadn't expected it to work, and I was surprised when Sookie kissed me. As much as I might have wanted to deepen that kiss, it wasn't something she wanted. I would respect her boundaries in that regard.

"Eric, what does that mean?"

"It means that for all intents and purposes, I am your maker. You and I have the same basic connection that I have with Pam."

"Are you going to tell the Queen about this?"

I frowned as I thought about that. If any other vampire was drained almost to the point of death, could their maker be effectively switched by having another vampire give them their own blood? What set of conditions would be necessary for this to work? Would the drained vampire have to be under a certain age? Or was there something special about Sookie that allowed this to occur?

If there was a precedent for this, then I might consider telling Sophie-Anne. However, if this situation was unique to Sookie, then I would conceal it for the time being.

"Not right away," I eventually responded. "I hadn't known this was possible. You are not the average vampire, but I suspect you were not the average human."

She snickered. "You mean the average human isn't telepathic?"

"In all my years, I've never met another. I did meet a psychic once."

"Really? I haven't, but I'm pretty sure they're something else entirely. Kind of like how a bartender is different from a waitress. They may work in the same places, but they do different things."

"Very astute, and quite correct."

"Are they still around, this psychic that you met? I'd love to compare notes."

I shook my head. "No, they'd be dead by now. It was several decades ago."

We flew in silence for a while, each of us lost in our own thoughts.

I had met other beings who could manipulate the weather, but none of them were human, aside from a handful of witches. Witches were people who manipulated magic, but were not themselves inherently magical; they were made, not born. Some were more predisposed to it than others, but you couldn't actively work as a witch without being aware of it. Besides, I could sense their magics when they used them, and I detected no such thing from Sookie.

When I took Sookie to visit her family back in Bon Temps, something I decided would happen sooner rather than later, I would ask her grandmother about the family history.

If I had tasted her blood before she'd been turned, I might have been able to get a better idea of what Sookie was. Whatever she had been, her blood had been changed by becoming a vampire. There'd be no telling it now, not without finding a vampire with a more sensitive palate; Pam's was good, but maybe not _that_ good. I also wasn't sure whether or not I wanted my first child to get a taste for her sister's blood. I smiled to myself when I thought of the two of them as sisters. The three of us would make a deadly and wonderful trio.

"What are you smiling about?" Sookie asked, breaking me out of my internal monologue.

"Pam will be very pleased to find out that you two are sisters."

"How does that all work? Will she and I have some kind of bond now? And what does that make you, our dad?" She giggled.

I raised my eyebrow at her. "We may use similar terms, but vampire relationships don't work along the same lines and definitions. As to a bond between you and Pam? We'll have to find out. This is a highly unusual situation."

She laughed. "My week: welcome to it."

"You mean to tell me that your life hasn't always been this interesting?" I asked with a grin.

"Pff. Aside from being able to read minds, my life has been... well, I guess you couldn't call it boring. I've had a lot happen to me. But this week probably takes the cake."

"Then you'll love what I've got planned for next week."

Groaning, she hid her face against my chest. I fought back a smile. I'd have to find more excuses to fly us around regularly. I liked the feel of her body pressed against mine. Sookie said something I couldn't quite understand.

"What was that?"

She lifted her head. "I said, what's going on next week?"

"Not a damn thing..." I paused. "Aside from a trip to Bon Temps."

Seeing her smile was almost like seeing the sun again, it was so bright. I was dazzled by the sight of it. "Eric, really? Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Sookie hugged me before scooting up to give me a quick kiss.

"Ooh, a kiss for saying I was going to Bon Temps? What do I get if I actually bring you with me?"

Apparently _that_ got me a pinch.

* * *

There was a nice long line at the front door when we reached Fangtasia, not that I ever went in that way. Still, I was pleased that business was doing well. Sookie and I went in the back way; when we got to my office, she immediately flopped down on the couch.

"I never thought I'd be so glad to see this place."

I chuckled. "Don't worry, you'll get sick of it again."

Less than a minute later, the door flew open and Pam walked in.

"Shouldn't you be at the door, Pam? Quite the line out there."

She snorted. "As if I'd wait to hear what happened. Spill."

"All teasing aside, you're not getting the details until later. There are things we must discuss where there are fewer ears. For now, all you need know is that Sookie isn't going anywhere."

"Except to Bon Temps next week," Sookie piped up from the couch.

Pam bribed, begged, threatened, sulked and stomped, but I refused to tell her anything other than to meet us at my house after she closed up the club. That brought a smile to her face, at least until I told her she was not allowed to close more than an hour early.

Sookie and I only stayed long enough for me to make sure there were no other pressing matters that required my attention. I wanted a long hot shower. Flying was useful, and I loved it, but I didn't love being covered in dead bugs and dirt.

On the trip back to the house, I lectured Sookie on the importance of being environmentally aware. As a vampire, she would be around to see the long-term consequences of man's misuse of the earth's resources. She saw my point and agreed to be more conscious of her carbon footprint, but stated that no matter how much she cared about water conservation, she would not be taking a shower with me that evening.

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A/N: It may be a few days before I'm able to update again. Haven't been able to write for the past few days, and as of this chapter, I'm no longer ahead of the posting schedule. Meaning: I haven't even _started_ the next chapter yet. To be quite honest, I've only got the barest notion of where this story might be going next; I'm thinking that instead of ending it and doing a sequel, I might just do a time-skip chapter to gloss over the events of a not-yet-determined amount of time (but probably a year or so). Since I haven't decided, feel free to weigh in on the comments. :D

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Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Went a few days without writing, and then this just tackled me out of nowhere. I ain't mad. This is the time-skip chapter; I had been thinking about doing a "dinner with the family" chapter before the time-skip, but the muse disagreed. There will be a chapter for that in the future, but not just yet. You'll see.

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**Pam POV**

After Fangtasia closed that night, I went over to the house where Eric and Sookie had been staying recently. They filled me in on everything that had happened in New Orleans. We discussed Sookie's abilities, the way her original maker had drained her, and how Eric was now effectively her maker. I wanted to start a betting pool on how long Sophie-Anne would keep John alive before finally killing him; Sookie refused, saying that she had nothing to bet with. We had no objections to betting with physical rewards instead of fiscal ones; Eric and I teased her about _that_ until she literally dropped.

Whoops. We'd lost track of the sun. Knowing I'd never make it to my own house in time, I went to the room Eric kept for me and got ready for my daytime rest. Eric carried Sookie into her room and then came into my room for a cuddle. He wanted to make sure I wouldn't resent my new sister. I tried to not laugh or roll my eyes; little did he know that having to put up with two women... well, he was out-numbered, now.

I had plans. Or rather, I had _ideas_. Hopefully Sookie would loosen up enough to participate in tormenting Eric from time to time.

The days turned into weeks, the weeks into months. Several nights a week, Eric trained Sookie in all manner of things: tracking, hunting, fighting, vampire politics, vampire-human relations; in most things, he gave her the basics, knowing that the mastery of these skills would take decades. He was giving her good foundations to build upon. Eric was an excellent teacher. He adapted to Sookie's learning style, which I found was quite different from mine. She learned more if the lessons were fun; I just wanted them out of the way as soon as possible. It didn't surprise me that she had trouble with politics and etiquette; nothing on earth could make those subjects amusing – mockery aside.

Every Sunday, Eric took Sookie back to Bon Temps to spend time with her human family. Eventually, I started joining them. I hadn't wanted to go, but I lost a bet; it was either that or clean the bathrooms at Fangtasia for a month. The visit turned out to be more interesting than I'd thought, even if I refused to say that out loud. I had a reputation to keep up.

Sookie didn't visit with her old friends from Bon Temps; from what I understood, she hadn't had many to begin with. The townspeople had been afraid of her because they thought she was crazy. As far as any of them were aware, she'd moved to Shreveport for a job opportunity. Vampires might be out of the coffin, but that didn't mean we were accepted by the small minds one finds in a podunk town like Bon Temps. Sookie didn't care if they hated her, but she didn't want anyone taking it out on her family.

Her brother Jason was almost Sookie's opposite. For starters, he was the town crotch. Everything in a skirt wanted to get into his pants; everything in pants couldn't bring themselves to hate him for it. Jason might have been dumb as a box of wet toast, but he had a sweet charisma to him. He was protective of Sookie, and gave Eric no small amount of hell during the first few visits. Eventually, he warmed up; their mutual fascination with fast cars might have had something to do with it.

Sookie's Gran more complex than she first appeared. Adele loved her grandchildren something fierce; as long as you were good to them, you were golden. The minute someone hurt her babies, she wanted nothing to do with that person. I couldn't begin to figure out how she reconciled her own popularity with the way the rednecks seemed to hate Sookie. It wasn't that she forgave them their prejudices, but she seemed to overlook them for the sake of hospitality.

Adele and I had an odd friendship. From the stories she told me, she'd been a real wild card when she was Sookie's age. If I'd known her then, the two of us would have torn up this small town. She liked to hear some of my stories, as if she was living vicariously through me. I didn't mind. She was a vault of secrets, that woman. Not even Sookie understood how much her Gran kept locked away.

Eric had tried asking about the family history in an effort to find out what it was that made Sookie different. Oh, he heard all about the family lineage, but nothing worthwhile came of it. There were no revelations as to what made Sookie so different. I didn't fare much better, but I think Adele thought Eric had put me up to asking. He had, but that was aside from the point; I was intrigued.

I hadn't tasted Sookie's blood, primarily because Eric had commanded me to never do so. He didn't give commands often, so I knew there was valid reasoning behind it when he did. There was no guarantee that I would be able to stop myself from draining her if I tasted Sookie; Eric would be able to pull me away if he was there, but if he wasn't? Even without his orders, I had no desire to meet the same fate as John Smith.

About a month after the trip to New Orleans, Eric got a call from Sophie-Anne. The Queen's informants had done a full profile on John Smith. He really was nothing special. His maker, a young one only a few decades older than John, was already finally dead; there was no one to pay restitution to for John's death. No consequences. No one would miss him; he had no alliances. John was a lone wolf, as it were. Well, he was a pile of ashes now. The Queen had tortured him until she bored of him; she didn't _need_ a reason for it, but he'd given her plenty. The fact that he'd abandoned a newborn in her city was nothing next to the fact that he'd almost killed the only known telepath in the States.

Having Sookie around prompted us to look into whether or not there were more telepaths out there. There were rumors of a school for them somewhere in Scandinavia. This school was intentionally located far to the north, and was only in session during the times of the midnight sun. They were well aware of how tempting they would be to vampires; when they weren't in session, the pupils and teachers scattered to the far corners of the earth.

Eric and I found that to be frustrating, but it seemed to depress Sookie. She moped for days about how she would have loved a school like that when she was human, and now that she was a vampire, she'd never get to go. It rained the entire time she was in that state. Finally, I had to take matters into my own hands: one morning, just after she'd gone down for the day, I slathered her in body glitter and shook a fair bit of loose glitter into her hair. It took her hours to scrub most of it off, and she was finding glitter in her hair for almost a fortnight. That stuff really is the herpes of the craft world: so easy to get it on you, nigh unto impossible to eradicate.

That was when Sookie started retaliating for all of the teasing that Eric and I did. He'd been trying to get her into bed this entire time, much to my disbelief. I'd never known a woman who could resist him. Who would want to? The man was a sex god. Even I had to agree with that, and I didn't swing that way. Eric and I started to wonder if she was more on my team; I didn't have any better luck. I couldn't figure out what on earth was wrong with her. Something had to be amiss. No one could _choose_ to go that long without sex and be right in the head; not if they were fully functional.

Sookie was one hell of a tease, but it wasn't intentional until after the glitter incident. Then she just got mean about it. I had to say, I was proud of her. It wasn't like Eric and I weren't getting _any_; the fangbangers were good for more than just blood; some of them, anyway. Still, Sookie was the challenge.

It didn't take her long to get her newborn vampire impulses under control. She'd done in weeks what had taken me months, if not years. There really was something different about her. I attributed it to her early life experience with her mind reading, but Eric felt that it was tied to whatever it was that gave her the ability to manipulate the weather. She gave him no small amount of subjects to investigate. He couldn't find a single other vampire with that ability.

When Sookie was in a good mood, the weather went on as the forecasters predicted. She wasn't to be blamed for every rainy night. It was just when she in a strong emotional state that she had any impact on the elements. We had to wing it with the training on that stuff; we had no idea how it worked, and there was no one to ask about it. She handled it better than we did, having plenty of experience figuring out her telepathy when there was no one around to help her.

Eric also looked into the transfer of her maker-child bond; it wasn't entirely without precedent, but the conditions for it were almost impossible to attain. It was through sheer luck that Sookie hadn't finally died that night after John drained her. If he'd drained her a week or even a few days later, she wouldn't still be with us.

Once Eric had determined that there were other known instances of it having happened previously, he informed Sophie-Anne of what had transpired that night. To the best of his knowledge, she still wasn't aware of Sookie's ability to manipulate the weather. We wanted to keep it that way.

It wasn't easy to keep that hidden, especially at first. A few days after Eric and Sookie returned from New Orleans, the Queen's lawyer had come to Shreveport to write up a contract for Sookie's mind-reading services. Once a month, she went down to the palace to read the entire staff. Every now and then, she would be called down to listen in during Sophie-Anne's more important business meetings. Eric was there to keep her safe, but also to help her keep control of her emotions. Between the money Sookie earned from her work at Fangtasia and what she earned from the Queen, she was pulling in a tidy sum.

Most of her money went into fixing up her ancestral home. It hadn't been difficult for her to convince Adele to add an extra suite of rooms to the house. The ratty old thing had started out as a two-room building, and each generation seemed to add something to it. The new rooms were light-tight, meaning that Sookie could stay there. In theory, anyway. It would be some time before Eric was comfortable leaving Sookie on her own, no matter how well she had her impulses under control.

Sookie was a busy little bee. Her nights off were rare, but she seemed to love being busy. It gave her something to do, she said. She didn't like sitting around doing nothing. On the nights where she was working at Fangtasia, she hung out with Eric or me. The customers came to see her almost as much as they came to see Eric, oddly enough. She was a brilliant combination of attractive, sweet, and completely unattainable. She would feed from the fangbangers, but she never fucked them.

The nights where she and I hit the dance floor were the nights when we pulled in some of our best profits. Two hot women bumping and grinding sent the whole room thirsting, vampires and humans alike. As much as she'd initially resisted the idea of having to dress up for work, she grew to like it. Neither of us dressed like that out of preference; they were costumes for our club personas. Much to my dismay, Sookie had no interest in fashion; at least that meant she wouldn't be borrowing my clothes anytime soon. In her off-time, she dressed much like Eric: jeans and t-shirts. At least she wore sundresses from time to time.

To celebrate Sookie's first full year as a vampire, Eric let me plan a huge bash at the club. We'd managed to keep it a surprise from her. Even Sophie-Anne was in on it, to some degree; she didn't come to the party, but she rescheduled several important meetings so that they would take place on the nights just before the big event.

It went off without a hitch. Sookie was taken completely by surprise, and thanks to her training with Eric, she would have accidentally killed half a dozen fangbangers if he hadn't been there to hold her back. After she got over her initial shock, she was touched to the point of leaking bloody tears. That caused some of the vampires there to look at her skeptically, but the humans ate it up. It only increased her popularity with the breathers.

Eric had managed, through some very sneaky channels, to obtain fairy blood for our little after-party. He'd told me about that beforehand, but kept it well hidden. How he managed to resist drinking it himself, I'd never know. Fairy blood was delicious and intoxicating to vampires; it was our alcohol. I, for one, planned on getting utterly smashed. We kicked out the humans a few hours early and had our after-party with a few of the area vampires who were quite fond of Sookie. There was enough fairy blood for all of us to get more than a little tipsy, but we all agreed that Sookie should have the lion's share of it, since it was her party.

She was already quite full from the celebrating she'd done, but it still confused me when I had to convince her to drink even the tiniest amount of fairy blood. She was in such high spirits, I couldn't tell whether or not it was affecting her. When no one was looking, I hid one of the vials at the back of the office safe, under a pile of documents. By that time, no one was really paying attention; they were too busy partying. The rest of the night was a delightful blur; I only vaguely remember Eric taking me back to the house and bringing all of us to bed. Nothing sexual happened; by that time, it was too close to dawn. We talked, teased, and snuggled until, one by one, the sun took us under for the day.

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Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: I don't normally do this, but... I recently published a one-shot that I've read over a dozen times and it _still_ cracks me up. While I am of the easily-amused variety, I've been told by other folks that they found it funny as well. It's hysterical and bizarre and completely OOC: Eric as evil genius / mad scientist. Name of the fic is Skullcrusher Mountain, and there's a link for it in my profile if you're so inclined.

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**Sookie POV**

When I first moved in with Eric, he'd told me that Pam had her own houses and that she rarely stayed with him. He seemed surprised when that changed, not long after she and I started getting chummy. Part of it was because she was my "babysitter" whenever Eric wasn't around. I resented it at first, but recognized that even if I didn't need watching, it was always nice to know there was someone around who had my back. I had yet to run into any Fellowship members, but I'd seen my share of drainers at the club. Even if I could take them on by myself, I didn't like the idea of fighting.

I suspected that Pam's other reasons were a bit more selfish. She was a complete fashion whore, and seemed to regard me as a life-size dress-up doll. She enjoyed the process more than I did, even if the end results were gorgeous. The two of us got into the habit of coordinating our Fangtasia outfits; she was the wicked one, I was the sweet, innocent one. That usually translated into her wearing all black while I wore red or white. How red was an innocent color, I had yet to figure out. We didn't do it every night, just mostly on the weekends when the club was busier.

One night, Pam and I found ourselves running Fangtasia without Eric. It wasn't one of his nights off, but something had come up that he needed to take care of. He didn't explain, and I didn't ask. I knew better. He'd tell us if we needed to know. Most of the time it was just Sheriff stuff, and would have been boring to hear about anyway.

I was sitting in our booth, sipping a blood, when Pam came to join me. She'd been working the door all evening, but things were starting to slow down. I liked it when she was the one screening the entrants; she caught more of the troublemakers and made my job easier. Whenever Clancy was working the door, I knew it would be a busy night for me. Within a minute of Pam sitting down, a waitress brought a blood for her. Once the waitress left, Pam took me by surprise.

"Admit it: you want me."

I snorted; while it had come out of the blue, it wasn't entirely unexpected. "You sound like Eric."

"So what's the deal, Sookie? Which side of the fence are you on?" She grinned before her face fell in a horrified expression. "Or are you just completely asexual?"

"Sorry, Pam. I've never pictured myself having sex with a woman. Not even you."

She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "Which means you _have_ pictured yourself having sex at all. Presumably with a man. We're making progress, here."

"Is this conversation really necessary?" I was sure we'd had this one at least five times in the last month.

"Of course it is. You're not a virgin, are you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, I want you to imagine something for me..."

"Does it involve props?" Pam asked with a wicked grin.

"No. Picture yourself making out with someone. You can hear every thought going through their heads. You can tell how much they really aren't into it, how much they wished you were someone else. Maybe they're going over their grocery list, or thinking about painting the ceiling beige..."

Pam waved her hand dismissively. "Those are human excuses. Unless you're telling me you can hear vampires now?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I can't hear vampires. Just humans and Weres."

"So what's stopping you from having sex with a vampire?"

"Like who, Long Shadow? Or Clancy?" I wrinkled my nose. They were creepy.

Pam snickered at the face I'd made and licked her lips. "I was thinking you could have sex with me."

I sighed and tried to figure out how to explain it. "Even if I _was_ interested in women, which I'm _not_, you're like the sister I never had."

"We _are _in the south," Pam interrupted. "What's the old saying? Ah, yes: if you can't keep it in the pants, keep it in the family."

"I'm going to ignore that. My family tree isn't a wreath. But back to the mind-reading aspect: it's almost worse to not be able to tell what you're thinking. I can never know the truth, never know how you feel."

"Bullshit, Sookie. You've got a bond with Eric. You can tell exactly how he feels."

I shrugged. "And he can turn it off." Something I hadn't yet figured out how to do, and it wasn't for lack of trying on my part.

"You're just coming up with excuses. I think you're afraid. You _are_ a virgin, aren't you?"

I scowled at her and tipped back the rest of my blood. "Underage kid just got in, Pam. You really need to school Clancy about the fake IDs."

She grumbled and easily picked the offender out of the crowd, dragging them with her to the door. When she didn't come back right away, I figured I had a slight reprieve.

As difficult as it was to accomplish with all of Pam's frequent teasing, I tried to not think too much about my sex life – or lack thereof. It wasn't that I wasn't interested in sex. Far from it. I'd just been so busy over the past year. Of course, the first few months of being a vampire were all about the ups and downs, the crazy mood swings, and trying to get myself under control. When I first met Eric, I wasn't the kind of girl to jump into bed with someone I barely knew.

Well, I still wasn't that kind of girl, but by the time I felt like things were calming down and I knew them better, fending off Eric and Pam's advances had almost become a game. I knew they thought of me as a challenge, and keeping them at bay was just as much a challenge for me.

One night, about six months after I was turned, Eric took a fangbanger back to his office while Pam and I were at the front of the club. He made sure to send lust at me through the bond; the bastard wasn't sending it to Pam at all. Pam caught onto what was happening, and she pulled me out onto the dance floor. We'd danced together before, which the customers seemed to enjoy. Even if it was purely platonic, our dancing together was almost as good for business as Eric's presence in our booth. Tara and I used to dance with each other all the time, and neither of us was attracted to each other that way.

That night, Pam and I kicked it up a few notches. Body parts were groped, heated glances were exchanged, and hair might have been grabbed. When Eric emerged from his office, Pam smirked and thanked him for giving her an opportunity to help relieve some of my _tension_. Shortly thereafter, she disappeared with a fangbanger for a half hour or so while Eric shot me irritated looks.

As much as I could picture myself having sex with Eric, it just seemed like it would complicate things. I liked the relationships I had with Pam and Eric, and I figured adding sex into the mix would mess things up. Sure, they could have sex with someone without there being any emotions involved; I wasn't so sure I could say the same about myself.

About an hour before the bar closed, Eric showed up. I heard him come in through the back entrance of the club, but I sat in the booth and waited. If he was still attending to business, he wouldn't want to be bothered. Besides, I was listening in to the crowd. A few minutes later, he sauntered over to the booth. As usual, the waitress came to take his order; it never changed, but all of the women who worked here used any excuse to have extra contact with him. They never asked me or Pam what we wanted, which was fine by me.

"Anything interesting tonight?" he asked, once we were alone. Well, as alone as we could be in a busy club.

"Not really, no. You?" I knew I shouldn't ask, but I was curious.

He shrugged. "Sheriff shit. Nothing worth talking about."

I nodded and went back to scanning the minds of the humans around me.

Eric was quiet as the waitress brought him his blood. He drank it down in a few gulps and put the bottle at the edge of the table.

With a smirk, he asked, "So what are the chances of you sleeping with me anytime soon?"

Good grief. Did they put extra amounts of horny in the blood supply tonight? Whatever he'd been up to this evening, he must have been itching for some kind of fight. His favorite activities were fighting and having sex; the two were closely linked, in his mind. I sighed. "Ask Pam."

He laughed. "You know I don't have the right equipment for her."

"No, I meant you should ask her about your chances with me. We've already had that conversation tonight."

Eric grinned and fluttered his eyelashes at me. "Do you often talk about me?"

"Yes, Eric. Constantly," I said dryly.

He looked smug for a split second before he realized I was yanking his chain.

"All joking aside, you're making me look weak."

Was he serious? I blinked in confusion. "How so?"

"You're the first woman to ever resist me this long. People are saying I'm losing my touch."

"So you want me to sleep with you just to make you look good? Why don't you just tell them we've done it?" I'd quickly learned that the vampire community was full of bigger gossips than the Bon Temps sewing circle.

Eric smirked. "First off, that's not _nearly_ as satisfying. They'd know it by the look on your face as well as your scent. But no," he said, his voice dropping to a lower register, "I want to fuck you because I want to hear the noises you make when you come, because I want to see if you taste as good as you smell, and because you are incredibly sexy."

I'd been a vampire for just over a year, and I still expected to blush when he made comments like that. To distract myself, I looked out into the club, hoping to find some stray thought that required my attention. Unfortunately, Pam was doing her job a little too well. Just then, one of my favorite dancing songs started playing.

A month or two ago, Pam had downloaded a zip file of Russian dance hits to play in the club. It seemed completely random until Eric told me she was having a fling with some Russian girl who'd been coming to Fangtasia recently. It turned out some of the music was actually pretty neat. Not the sort of thing I'd listen to of my own accord, but it was fun to dance to.

Eric groaned as he recognized the music, muttering something under his breath. I ignored him and got up to dance, happy to have an excuse to not talk to anyone. I got my groove on until the club closed for the evening; not having to stop for water or to catch my breath, that was one of the more fun perks of being a vampire.

Pam and I had driven together, while Eric had flown. He grumbled about riding in Pam's minivan, but rode with us anyway. Even when the two of them were teasing me mercilessly, I enjoyed spending time with them. They were my second family. We got home fairly quickly; Pam drove almost as fast as Eric, but she was a little more reckless.

Pam parked in the driveway, since there wasn't room in the garage. As soon as we got out of the car, Eric and Pam tensed and began sniffing the air.

I crouched closer to the car, looking around to see what sort of danger we were in. When I couldn't find anything wrong, I turned back to them and noticed the strange expressions on their faces. Pam looked like she was smelling the world's best apple pie, and Eric looked as if he were torn between wanting to kill someone or have sex with them. I sniffed the air and picked up something different, but couldn't begin to fathom their odd reactions.

"Uh, guys?" I asked in a low whisper. "What's going on?"

Pam hummed, but Eric growled. "A fairy has been here recently. Get inside, Sookie."

Given what I'd heard about fairies, I wasted no time getting into the house. I sped down to the lower level and into the room with the security monitors. I watched as the two of them scouted the perimeter of the house. They didn't seem to find anything, and a few minutes later I heard them come downstairs.

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Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: I know y'all have been clamoring for lemons; they're not off the table, but they're also not the primary focus, here. I know this story is WAY out of canon, Sookie being a vampire and all, but I'm trying to stay true to the characters as they are in the books. It took four books for Sookie and Eric to do the funky chicken, and even _then_ the whole thing probably wouldn't have happened if he hadn't had amnesia (no, I'm not going that route).

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**Eric POV**

I had been feeling restless lately, and was itching for some kind of action. The trio of troublemakers I visited earlier had proven to be nothing more than a bunch of bullies who cowered when someone stronger showed up. There was no fight in them at all. They hadn't been up to anything specifically against vampire or human laws, but there had been complaints. They would be gone from my Area soon, one way or another. I was fairly lenient, but I had no tolerance for people stupid enough to mistake leniency for weakness.

Getting shot down by Sookie, again, wasn't a surprise. Neither Pam nor I could figure out what her deal was. I could sense her interest and arousal from time to time, but she never acted on it. As much as I might tease her, I would not truly push the issue.

I was disappointed, but not surprised, when Pam and I were unable to find the fairy who had left their scent all around my property.

With dawn only an hour or two away, I was not going to be taking any chances. I instructed Pam to get Sookie back into the car and start driving. I flew off to scout out another of my houses, one that was less frequently used. When I decided that house had the all-clear, I called Pam and told her where to drive.

I could feel through the bond that Sookie was both confused and worried; Pam was somewhere between bored and irritated. I was not going to sugar-coat this for my youngest child; I did not like anyone knowing where I took my rest, let alone a fucking _fairy_.

The girls showed up about 15 minutes after I'd told Pam which house to come to. Like all of my houses, this one had a lower level that was accessed by a secret door that required a security code to enter. Even Pam did not know the codes for this place. I let us all into the basement and turned on the central air system to bring fresh air in. We might not need to breath, but it smelled musty.

"There are only two bedrooms here," I said. "Pam, you can have one room. Sookie and I will share the other."

Sookie was already showing signs of the approaching day, which normally made her slightly cranky; oddly enough, she didn't argue with me. She did grumble a bit, saying she was going to take a quick shower before resting. Pam smirked at her retreating figure.

"I'm surprised she didn't fight you on that," she said.

"It is a matter of security," I said in Swedish. "If any fairies track us here, you can protect yourself alone better than Sookie could."

Pam snickered. "If you were that concerned about security, we'd all be in one bedroom," she said, keeping to the same language.

I smiled. "I vaguely recall the beds in this house being smaller."

"That's bullshit and you know it. Did you notice her response to the scent?"

"You mean her lack of response? Yes."

"What do you make of it?"

I shook my head. "Her sense of smell is so strange, I cannot be certain. Did you know she actually _likes_ the smell of skunk?"

Pam wrinkled her nose for a brief moment, then looked thoughtful. "I have an idea."

I raised my eyebrow and waited for her to proceed.

"Well, during her party, I noticed she didn't have much interest in fairy blood. I thought she was just full from all of the drinking she'd already done, so I hid one of the vials for her to have later."

"How thoughtless of you," I said. I didn't like the implications of what Pam was saying, but I couldn't resist teasing her.

"No, listen. She had a little, but she was so excited anyway, I couldn't tell if it effected her. I say we mix the fairy blood with some normal blood and see what happens."

It seemed a crime to mix fairy blood with that synthetic bottled crap. "Do you have any donor blood to mix with it?"

Pam reached into her purse and pulled out a bag of blood and the vial of fairy blood.

"Well, you certainly are prepared," I said with a smirk, "When were you planning on doing this?" There was an unspoken question that went along with the one I had asked directly. I trusted Pam more than any other creature on this planet, but she was not the one calling the shots around here. Especially not when it came to Sookie; the two of them had a good relationship, and I wanted it to stay that way. The three of us worked well together, and problems between the them could be a dangerous distraction.

"Not without asking you first, and I was going to do that tonight anyway."

I held out my hand so that she could give me the blood and the vial. "I will take care of this. Go rest."

* * *

**Sookie POV**

When I got out of the shower, I heard Pam and Eric talking in Swedish. After hearing so much of it, I was starting to recognize certain words and phrases. They were talking about me, that much I knew. These days, they only ever seemed to break into Swedish when I was the topic of discussion.

I dried off, found one of Eric's shirts that fit me more like a dress, and got into bed. As I lay there, I only half-listening to the conversation that was going on in the other room. My mind wandered to the way they had reacted to the scent of a fairy near the house. I'd smelled something different, and I could completely understand why they were concerned, but the smell didn't do much for me. We already knew that my sense of smell was somewhat odd; I could smell silver, and I liked some scents that no one else did.

They had told me about fairies before. Pam described them as "dangerous and delicious, in that order," which made me envision one of Gran's pecan pies embedded with razor blades. She laughed when I told her about that, and said I'd gotten it slightly backwards: it was more like a pie surrounded by silver spikes. If you could get past the pointy bits, you could get to the good stuff.

Eric had told me fairies were fierce, cruel, and slippery; they were excellent warriors, at least the ones that came over to the human realm. Not much was really known about them other than their ability to fight; vampires and fairies didn't get along any more than coyotes got along with cats. The two races weren't about to get together to compare cultural notes and stories.

I felt my eyes grow heavy with the approaching dawn, and gave in to the pull of the day.

As per usual, I opened my eyes at sunset, after what felt like only a few minutes. Oddly enough, Eric was still in bed next to me. His age allowed him to stay awake well after dawn and rise an hour or two before I did; as long as he didn't go out into the sunlight, he was fine with less rest. We hadn't ever shared a bed before when it was just the two of us, but he was always up and dressed before I was.

I flipped onto my side to face him; he was on his back with his hands clasped behind his head. He looked at me and smiled. "Good evening, Sookie."

"Hey. What are you doing still in bed?" I asked.

"We're taking the night off. Pam has already informed the staff that Fangtasia will be closed tonight."

"Oh. What are we doing, then?"

"Are you hungry?" Eric asked, ignoring my question.

I nodded; I always was when I first rose for the evening. I sat up and made to get out of bed to go get myself a blood, but Eric stopped me by placing a hand on my arm.

"Stay here, I'll get it." With that, he got up and left the room. I scooted back on the bed and leaned against the headboard.

When he came back into the room, Eric was carrying a glass instead of a bottle. I looked at him curiously, careful to keep my eyes aimed above his neck in an effort to ignore just how very naked he was.

"The bottles here are past their expiration date. This is fresh from a bag," he said, holding it out to me.

Bagged blood was somewhere between live donors and the synthetic stuff. There was a slight taste of the plastic it came in, but it was more satisfying than True Blood, which was arguably the best of the synthetics. For a split second, I wondered why he'd put it in a glass; the bags practically had a built-in straw. Then the smell of the blood hit me, and the hunger kicked in; I eagerly took the glass from him and drained it.

I opened my mouth to thank Eric when I noticed two things: first, he was watching me a little too closely; second, my body was reacting very strangely to my breakfast.

"Eric," I said, my voice sounding distant to my ears, "I think something was wrong with that blood."

"Tell me what you're feeling."

"My arms and legs are tingling, like they've fallen asleep. And my vision's going red, like I'm about to go into bloodlust or something."

Eric was sitting on the bed in front of me, watching me. Without warning, I launched myself at him. I wanted nothing more than to throttle him, to tear our huge chunks of his flesh.

"What did you give me?" I growled.

He easily grappled me so that I was trapped under him. I bared my fangs at him and hissed; he straddled me, pinning my wrists under his knees. When I felt his hands cupping my face, they felt cool. I tried to turn my head to bite his fingers, but he held me firm.

"You're burning up."

I couldn't form any words. All that came out of me were grunts and growls. The air in the room shifted, and I knew that Pam was watching from the doorway. I bucked, trying to throw him off of me. That must have taken him by surprise, because I managed to get an arm free. Immediately, my hand was at his face, trying to claw at his eyes. Eric easily dodged the attack and once again immobilized my hand as I screamed in frustration.

Without any warning, he gripped my jaw to hold my mouth open and shoved his fingers into my mouth. The blood I'd just ingested came back up; I was heaving so hard, I wondered when I'd see that penny I accidentally swallowed in second grade.

Every nerve, every muscle felt like it was on fire. Eric held me in place while my body arched and flailed under him. Nothing I did managed to dislodge him; he was stronger than me, more experienced at fighting.

I had no idea where this anger was coming from; even as I questioned my actions, I could not stop them. It had been months since I'd felt this out of control. I wanted to kill everything around me, to feel my teeth sinking into soft flesh, to drain every last drop from every person around me, vampire or human. I wanted to hide in a dark room and never come out. I wanted my screams to mingle with those of the ones who died at my hands. I wanted someone to hold me, to rock me in their arms until this evil burning was extinguished.

Slowly, the effects of the tainted blood started to wear off. I felt shaky, like I'd just walked away from a car accident that should have been fatal.

I closed my eyes, partly out of a strange exhaustion, partly out of shame. I'd never lost it that badly.

Something wet brushed my face. I could smell Pam and soap. She was cleaning me up; I must have been a mess, with all of the blood I'd thrown up. Eric was still holding me down. They were talking in Swedish – talking about me. When I tried to speak, all that came out was a croak. My throat was sore from screaming. It wouldn't be long until it healed enough to let me talk, but it wouldn't be comfortable.

Eric's hands left my head, and I heard the _pop_ sound of teeth breaking skin. I felt something being pressed against my mouth: a wrist. Eric's wrist, based on the scent. I opened my mouth and took what he offered.

Slowly, I felt my body relax even more. A delicious feeling crept over my limbs, a false warmth I hadn't felt since I was human, since I was able to get drunk. I heard a moan, and only vaguely recognized it as mine. Once again I felt my body tingling, but it wasn't with the urge to destroy. I wanted to tackle Eric and rub myself all over him. I kept my eyes closed, even more embarrassed by my arousal than my anger.

The conversation around me had stopped, but I heard Eric give Pam an order I couldn't understand.

"Shh, just try to relax. Pam will be back soon."

"Don't drink the bagged stuff," I whispered.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: I know I've been absolute crap at keeping up with responding to reviews as of late. There are a few that I keep meaning to respond to, and I'm hoping to get around to that tonight. I know I'm not obligated to respond to comments, but it's not about obligation. I'll hushface now and let you get on with this next chapter. :D

* * *

**Eric POV**

Shortly after Pam left the house to get fresh synthetic blood, Sookie calmed down enough for me to let her up. She was weak from hunger, especially since she had used up so much energy trying to attack me. I carried her into the bathroom to get us cleaned up. She was quiet as I washed her, not even speaking up to complain about the two of us being naked and in the shower together. It wasn't a catatonic state, exactly; her emotions were so jumbled and confused, I would have blocked the bond if I wasn't so concerned about her. If Pam had been in that state, I would have tried to soothe her through the bond; past experience with Sookie had proven that approach to be more likely to provoke the opposite response.

As disconcerting as her silence might be, it gave me opportunity to think about the situation. Unfortunately, this whole episode raised more questions than it answered.

When Sookie was given fairy blood, she became violent. That itself was not unheard of; just as there were some humans who became "angry drunks," there were vampires that became more aggressive on fairy blood. The problem was that she did not have the same reaction at her party; Pam was certain that Sookie had drunk at least a little fairy blood that night.

Perhaps the effect had been diluted due to the massive amount of blood she'd had that night; nearly all of the fangbangers were more than happy to help her celebrate. Fairy blood on an empty stomach probably hit her system pretty hard. If she thought the blood was tainted, that might give her cause to react with anger; if that was the case, I was simply the nearest target.

Then there was the matter of how she had reacted to my blood. The first time I had given her my blood was in that initial blood exchange; she had felt anger and anguish as she recalled being molested by her uncle Bartlett. It had been far from sexual.

Prior to this evening, the last time she had my blood was when I used it to revive her in New Orleans; she had been unconscious and did not rise until the next evening. By that time there really was no emotional reaction to be had.

So what made _this_ time different from the first? Perhaps it was because her feelings for me had changed over the year in which we had known each other. Her feelings for me were complex, to say the least. She respected and looked up to me as her maker; she viewed me as a friend, often telling me stories about her childhood and confiding in me. There was attraction there, but also hesitation and reluctance. Lust was rarely present, but when it was there at all, it was tinged with irritation. It was one of the things she refused to talk to me about; that aspect of her life was a closed book to me, as far as she was concerned.

As I pulled her out of the shower, she shot me an irritated glance and yanked a clean towel from my hands.

"You knew there was something wrong with that blood."

"It was not tainted. I would have smelled it if it were bad, as would you."

Just then, I felt Pam enter the house; she was able to leave the basement, but would need me to let her back in. I wrapped my towel around my waist and sped to the stairs, making sure to give Pam the security code as I let her in. We walked to the microwave and began to heat up blood for the three of us.

"How is she?" Pam asked in a low whisper.

"Temperamental, but otherwise unharmed. It may be a night or two before she is back on an even keel."

"None of what happened made _any_ sense to me, Eric."

"What were you expecting to happen?"

"I was _hoping_ she would jump your bones. Or mine, for that matter. Since she didn't react to it at her party, I wasn't expecting her to have any reaction at all."

There was a loud bang as Sookie slammed the bedroom door. Pam raised an eyebrow at me. "Is she angry with us, or just acting out?"

I frowned. "She is upset, but we have not talked about it yet."

When the microwave dinged, Sookie stomped out of the bedroom and ignored the drink I held out to her. Without saying a word, she grabbed an unopened bottle and took it back into the bedroom, once again slamming the door behind her.

Pam snorted. "No, she's definitely angry with us. For what, though? It's not like you could just let her beat you up."

"She thinks the blood was tainted."

"Wait, what? You didn't _tell_ her what you were giving her?" Now Pam was glaring at me. "Jesus, no wonder she's pissed."

"She should know by now that I would never intentionally cause her any harm."

"Eric, you remember when we were researching telepaths a few months ago? They can't be glamoured. The ass who turned her probably had to slip something in her drink for her to have no memory of it."

It was my turn to glare at my child. This was new information to me. "Neither of you told me about this."

"Sookie said she would talk to you about it," Pam said. "But regardless, you've effectively done to her what Smith did."

I growled in frustration. As her maker, I was not obligated to tell Sookie before giving her altered blood; still, I had to admit to myself that she was well within her rights to be upset.

I drained the bottle in my hand and gave it to Pam before walking into the bedroom. Sookie was sitting on the bed with her back against the headboard, her legs pulled up to her chest. She had gotten dressed in one of my old shirts and a pair of boxers.

I went into the closet and pulled out some clothes for myself. "Sookie, we need to discuss what happened."

There was no response. She was angrily picking at her cuticles, intent on ignoring me as I got dressed.

"Sookie. Look at me." It wasn't a command or an order. Just a request, which she disregarded.

I sighed and got onto the bed, sitting next to her.

"What I gave you was human donor blood with a vial of fairy blood mixed in. Pam told me about your lack of reaction to fairy blood at your party. We wanted to find out how you would react to it in another setting – if at all."

Sookie was still sitting with her lips firmly clamped shut; her eyes were locked on something on the other side of the room.

I sighed. "Do not ever tell Pam I admitted this, but I fucked up and I am sorry."

Still nothing.

While it pleased me that she was strong-willed, her stubbornness was more than a little frustrating whenever we clashed. Ordinarily it irked me because I knew I was right; this time was different. I growled and got up.

"Fine. Stay here and sulk. We will discuss this at a later time, but right now I am going to track the fairies who now know one of our resting places."

I resisted the urge to slam the door behind me as I left the room. I told Pam to stay with Sookie; perhaps she would have better luck getting her to talk.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

I hated not speaking to Eric, but I knew if I opened my mouth at all, I'd say something that I'd regret later. My emotions were all over the place.

Sometime between when Pam left and when I was in the shower, I figured out that Eric had known something was different about the blood he'd given me. The fact that he didn't deny it when I called him out only made it all worse. He tried to sidestep me instead of just telling me what he knew.

I had listened in to his conversation with Pam. They'd both been in on it, but at least she felt he should have told me first. I hadn't even thought of the connection with my original maker, but Pam had raised a good point with that.

If they had just asked me to try it this morning, I would have. I didn't see what the big deal was when it came to fairy blood. I'd had so much human blood at my party, I felt like I was going to rupture something if I had any more.

I relaxed a bit when I heard Eric leave the house. A few minutes after that, Pam came in with some clothes hanging over her arm. She laid them out on the bed and then sat down next to them.

"You know, he can be a right ass at times, but he would never hurt you on purpose."

"Pam..." my voice trailed off. I had no idea what to say.

"He's different with you. You know that, right?"

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you confuse the hell out of him. Neither of us know entirely what to make of you. You're not like any vampire we've know before; for him, that's saying a lot."

I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh at that; I couldn't even be normal as a vampire. "Story of my life. So what makes him so different with me?"

"I know you really can't see it right now, but he cares about you."

"How is that different? He cares about you, too."

Pam started picking invisible lint off of her clothes, something she did when she was flustered.

"Eric has never made any other vampires. It's just us, and you're kinda halfsies on that bit anyway. It's already kind of weird because he didn't choose to turn you as he chose to turn me. If anything, that should have made him more distant towards you, but that's not the case. Maybe he's just different with you because you're the second child, and he learned from any mistakes he might have made with me."

I outright laughed at that. "You're saying – out loud, even - that _the_ Eric Northman might have made any mistakes?"

Her face twitched into a smile before she finally gave in and laughed. "I'm not saying it happens often, but it has happened in the past, and will undoubtedly happen again. As it did tonight."

"Okay, so how is he different with me?"

"It's the little things. He never neglected me, but he does more for you than he ever did for me. He's certainly more interested in flying with you than he ever was with me."

I snorted at that. "He just wants to get into my pants."

"Of course. Who wouldn't? And all teasing aside, what the hell is up with you not fucking anyone?"

"Why is it that between the three of us, I'm more old-fashioned about sex than either of you?"

She raised an eyebrow. "First, define 'old-fashioned.' If you're talking about romance and feelings? Those are far more recent ideas than your silly romance novels would have you believe. When Eric was a human, sex was a way of keeping warm at night. For fuck's sake, have you ever _been_ to Sweden?"

"You know I haven't." I'd never left the country at all before. "It's not that I'm not interested in sex, I just don't want to have sex with someone who treats it so casually."

"What, because it's your first time or something?"

"Oh, come off it, Pam. I'm not a virgin."

"Then why did it take you a year to admit it?" she asked, smirking.

I put my hands over my face and resisted the urge to yell, _because it's none of your damn business!_ Why were we even talking about this? Was it _all_ they ever thought about?

"Why didn't he just _tell_ me about the blood? That's what I don't get."

Pam shrugged. "Men are thick sometimes. I honestly don't know why. You'll have to ask him. Which means you'll have to talk to him, Sookie."

"I wasn't planning on ignoring him forever."

"Good, because while you're in here sulking, he's out there trying to make sure we're safe. Yeah, he fucked up – and I _did_ hear him admit it earlier – but he's not an asshole."

I thought about that for a few minutes. She was right, of course; and I did feel bad that with everything going on around us, I was acting like a petulant child. Even if I had good reason to be irritated, I needed to put it aside until later. I took a deep breath.

"Okay, so what can I do to help?"

"With fairies? Not a damn thing. You're not a strong enough fighter to be any kind of match for the ones strong enough to pop over to this realm. Until that changes, we need to know that we can leave you by yourself when we need to go take care of this kind of shit."

Just then, Pam's phone buzzed to let her know she had a text message. She read the message, typed something out, and put the phone away.

"Eric says the coast is clear, but we're still going to be using a different house for the foreseeable future. Put these clothes on, then you and I are going to meet him at the house to get your stuff."

"Just my stuff?" I asked.

"Eric and I have plenty of clothes at all of our houses, but you don't. We'll just get the things you really want and leave the rest there. Not like we can't buy more. Once this all blows over, I'll make sure you have clothes at all of the houses."

As I changed into the outfit Pam had brought me – a pair of gray slacks and a pink sweater – I tried to sift through my emotions to figure out what the heck I was feeling. I _was_ upset with Eric, but not really all that much. I knew he wouldn't hurt me intentionally, and I trusted him more than anyone else I'd ever met.

That whole thing about how he was _different_ towards me... that just confused me. I wanted to ask Pam to elaborate on it, but I knew she would tease me about sounding like a love-sick teenager.

We headed up the stairs and went outside to Pam's minivan. The two houses didn't seem so far apart, but Pam _was_ driving almost twice the speed limit. I was used to it by that point; knowing that I wasn't likely to die in a car crash took a lot of the fear out of the whole thing.

When we got to the house, I could feel Eric nearby. He wasn't inside, but when I got to my room I found several empty bags and suitcases waiting for me. Pam took one look at the situation and let out an exasperated sigh.

"See? That's what I'm talking about. If Eric and I had a fight, we'd be all up in each others' faces about it. None of this avoidance and tip-toeing bullshit."

I grumbled as I started packing some of my clothes. "He's probably just busy, Pam."

"Busy and _distracted_."

There wasn't much for me to pack, so I was able to get that taken care of pretty swiftly. I didn't have any real possessions other than clothing, and all of that was replaceable. Since my Fangtasia outfits were things I only wore when I was working there, Eric paid for them and wrote them off as business expenses. I wound up only using one of the larger suitcases.

On our way out the door, Pam grabbed a case of bottled blood; we didn't yet know which other house we'd be staying in, and there was no guarantee that it would be properly stocked.

Eric was waiting for us in the garage; he'd already opened the back of the minivan and took my single suitcase from me to load it up. Pam saw that and gave me a pointed look. I rolled my eyes and got into the back seat.

Eric and Pam bickered slightly about who would be doing the driving, but she finally relented and handed over the keys. The corvette was staying in this garage, since it was more easily spotted on the roads. Once they got into the car, the silence was more awkward than angry. I knew that the ball was in my court on this one: Eric was waiting for me to accept the apology he had offered earlier. I had no idea what to say or do.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	22. Chapter 22

**Sookie POV**

We were slowly making our way through Shreveport traffic when Pam finally broke the silence. "What's the plan?"

"We go back to house rotation, random schedule," Eric responded.

"Right. Why did you stop doing that, anyway?"

Since I was sitting behind him, I couldn't see the look that Eric directed at Pam; her reaction was nothing more than a small shake of her head.

"Tonight, you will go online and order more clothes for Sookie, as well as a case or two of True Blood. Have everything delivered to Fangtasia. I will see that it is all distributed to the different houses as we go to them."

"How many houses am I stocking?"

"Five. I will give you one of my cards to pay for it, and yes: you can get something for yourself as well."

I listened to them as they bantered and bickered; Pam wanted to get several somethings, and she was going all out to get them. I knew he'd eventually give in, as did Pam. By the time we had arrived at another house, this one on the opposite side of the city, she had worked her way up to three new pairs of shoes and at least half a dozen new outfits. She was good.

This wasn't the first time I'd witnessed such a thing between them. After the second time, I asked Pam why she didn't just buy those things for herself if she wanted them that badly. I knew she wasn't hurting for money. She smiled and patted my cheek, telling me that clothes always fit better when someone else buys them for you.

Neither of them paid much attention to me while we were in the car. I was still feeling out of sorts, so that was probably for the best. Even so, I felt like a child being put in time-out. That irritated me, because I didn't feel like I'd been the one to do anything wrong. I couldn't help the reaction I'd had to the blood, and I had valid reason to be upset with Eric for what he'd done. He'd blocked his side of the bond once we got into the car, so I couldn't tell what he was feeling. He could have been upset with me, or he could just be giving me space to calm down.

I hadn't felt this unbalanced in months, and I hated it.

As we went into the house, Eric didn't speak to me except to show me the codes for the security system. When we got to the bottom of the steps for the lower level, he took my suitcase from me and took it into one of the rooms. I looked helplessly at Pam, and she nodded in Eric's direction, indicating that I should go talk to him. Before I could follow him, he came back out and went into another room. He returned a minute later and handed Pam a laptop and a black credit card.

"Here," he said. "You and Sookie can order what is necessary. I will be working in my office."

"What are we going to do about the fairy situation?"

"I have already spoken with one of the Area trackers. They should be reporting back to me soon."

"You going to be selling that house, then?"

"Not immediately, but I am taking it out of rotation for now."

With that, Eric went back into a room that I assumed to be his office. Pam rolled her eyes at his back and then sat down on a couch in the living room. She booted up the laptop and patted the spot next to her on the couch. I sat down and flopped back, feeling like I wanted to sink into the floor.

"Pam, I..."

She interrupted me by placing a finger against my lips. "I know, I know. You don't want me picking out all of your clothes. You'll want the standard jeans, no doubt." She gave a disdainful sniff while I looked at her in utter confusion.

She pointed at the laptop screen; she had opened a text editor and typed: _H__e can hear us. We'll talk about clothes out loud, but anything else, type it here._

I leaned over her to type: _Why would I care if he hears us?_

"See that dress? Honestly, Sookie, how can you not love and adore that outfit? And that color would look smashing on you." Typed: _Because you need to be talking to him about this, not me._

"I'd be terrified of getting blood on it." Typed: _I just don't know what to say. _

"That's what dry cleaners are for, but here, check out this one instead." Typed: _For fuck's sake, say anything. Just get the ball rolling._

"No, I am not wearing that. What's wrong with my clothes anyway? They're comfortable and they look good on me." Typed: _He's the one who messed up, but it feels like he's trying to make me feel bad about it._

"Good? Sookie, no. No, no, no. I don't care what label they have on them, jeans will always be jeans." Typed: _The pushy bastard is giving you space. See? Different._

"Here, give me the laptop. Let me pick my own damn clothes, will you?" Typed: _Okay, fine. But what am I supposed to do about it now? He's working._

"What? A _muumuu_? Sookie, what the screaming purple _fuck_ is wrong with you?" Typed: _Use your damn ears. His laptop isn't even on yet, and he isn't on the phone._

"It's a sun dress, not a muumuu. And it comes in different patterns and colors, see?" Typed: _Can't I just wait until he comes back out?_

"No. I refuse to buy that for you, even if it isn't my money. I'd sooner put you in bell-bottoms." Typed: _No. Rip the band-aid off. Just do it. Ye gods, you two are getting on my tits. _

"Do they even make those anymore?" Typed: _We're WHAT?_

"I have my ways. Don't tempt me." Typed: _Irritating me. Get in there. Now. Before I really do order bell-bottoms for you._

"Can we just stick to jeans and t-shirts, then?" Typed: _Now I'm afraid to leave you alone. God knows what you'll order._

"Fine. For now. But you owe me for this." Typed: _I promise to play nice if you do. Go._

I groaned and walked over to the office door, tapping slightly on it.

* * *

**Eric POV**

I sat at my desk, staring blankly at the laptop that I had yet to turn on. All of the business-related things I needed to take care of could be done over e-mail, but I already knew there wasn't much of it.

Even with the door to my office closed, I could hear Pam typing on the laptop. She was typing way too much to be looking at the latest fashions, and the conversation they were having was utter fluff and nonsense. I admired Pam's resourcefulness, but she was fooling herself if she thought she was pulling one over on me; she should know better.

The topic of their text-based discussion was most likely the events from earlier this evening. It bothered me that Sookie was not talking to me, and I wondered how much time I should give her before I pressed the issue. I would not compel her in this matter; it would only make things worse.

The current lack of communication disturbed me. Pam was never one for giving the silent treatment; quite the opposite.

Right when I heard the tapping on my door, my phone beeped with a text message. It was from Pam: _She's coming in to talk to you. I will make both your lives hell until you work this shit out._

I chuckled and told Sookie to come in as I fired off a response: _You are not as sneaky as you think, but thank you._

Sookie opened the door and quietly asked, "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Not at the moment. Have a seat."

She took a seat and looked around, obviously trying to figure out what to say. I decided to start first.

"Sookie, how many times have we flown to New Orleans?"

Startled by my seemingly random question, she finally made eye contact with me. "Um, I don't know. I haven't really kept track."

"We go at there least once a month, with maybe an extra meeting every other month, and we have been doing that for a year now. That makes at least eighteen trips. Double that number for the flights back. We have flown long distances together almost forty times."

She blinked and thought about that. "Okay. I think that sounds about right."

"When was the last time you were nervous about flying?"

"I guess I got used to it after maybe two or three months. Eric, where are you going with this?"

"Bear with me. So, for the last eight or nine months, you have not been afraid of flying. You trusted that I would not drop you, that I would not let you fall."

"Right. Even though you teased me with some of your tricks, I knew that."

"So why do you think I would give you blood that I thought would harm you?"

Her confusion cleared and anger flared. "What did you _think_ it would do? And why didn't you just tell me?"

I frowned. "I already apologized for not telling you; I do not ask you to repeatedly apologize for your errors."

"I'm not asking for another apology, I just want to know _why_."

"After what Pam told me about your lack of response to fairy blood, and after seeing the way you did not respond to the fairy scent by the other house, I honestly thought you would have no reaction at all." I did not address that I had not expected her to react to my blood: that was not a point of contention between us. It could wait until later.

"So you weren't trying to get me hopped up on fairy blood?" she asked hesitantly. "I mean, I've heard stories about how it's supposed to effect us..."

Was that what all this was about? "No. I was testing how you would react to it, not attempting to excite you. Is that why you attacked me, because you thought I was trying to take advantage of you?"

She shook her head. "No. I don't know why I did that. I couldn't stop myself, and I'm sorry."

"I'll accept your apology if you accept mine."

She thought about it for a moment and then narrowed her eyes. "Apples and oranges. I would have nothing to apologize for if you hadn't given me fairy blood without telling me."

I was simultaneously pleased and exasperated: she was actively considering the different sides of the argument, but she was being obstinate. "Not true. Your reaction would have been the same regardless of whether or not I told you what you were drinking."

"I disagree," she said slowly. She paused for a moment. "You yourself taught me that anger and fear are closely linked. If I had been aware of what was going on, I think I would have been much less afraid, and then I might not have attacked you."

Now I was definitely proud of her, but I kept that feeling muted. "We can go back and forth about this until the sun rises, but I get the impression that no matter what I say, you will come back to the fact that I failed to keep you informed. How do you suggest we resolve this?"

Sookie leaned back in her chair and frowned. "You wouldn't ask Pam that sort of question, would you?"

"Why is that relevant?"

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I don't know that it is. She just says you're different with me than you are with her."

"Of course I am. You and Pam are different people. You don't treat Jason the same way you treat Adele."

"No, but those are different types of relationships. Gran is my grandmother, Jason is my brother. Pam and I are both your children."

This was starting to feel ridiculous. "We can come back to this topic later. Focus, please. What do you suggest we do to move past this?"

Sookie growled in frustration. "I don't know. I think I just need some time to myself."

"For what purpose?"

"When I was in high school, I came home upset more often than not. Gran always told me that things would get better as I got older, that I was just too young to have the perspective to see that. She said that when you're standing barefoot on a pile of rocks, all you know is that your feet hurt. You have to take a few steps away from them to see whether you've been standing on a mountain or a molehill."

I smiled. "Your grandmother is a smart woman. You probably still have traces of the fairy blood in your system, and we've already seen quite well how that effects your mood. I suspect you will be back to yourself in a night or two."

"So..." Sookie bit her lower lip. "Can I go stay with her for a few days?"

"No. You need a few days to make sure there are no more side effects, and I am not comfortable with the idea of you being on your own after a fairy was lurking around one of my houses."

She pouted slightly. "Yeah, I figured that wasn't gonna happen. Was worth a shot, though. Is there anything you need me to do tonight?"

I grinned. "Not for me, no. But you probably want to make sure Pam hasn't outfitted you in the worst fashion mistakes from the 1970s. Once that is done, you are free to relax, just so long as you stay in the lower level of the house."

"Thanks, Eric. I'm gonna go take care of that." She got up to leave; when she reached the door, she turned around with a smirk. "Want me to get you a blood?"

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Haven't forgotten about this story, either! This one seems to be flowing a little better; going to see if I can't get some more writing done on it tonight. Keep your fingers crossed!

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**Sookie POV**

There weren't any books at this house that I was overly interested in reading, and it was too late to call Gran or Jason, so I settled for zoning out in front of the television. Pam watched a little bit with me, but she kept her snarky commentary to bitching about the people on the screen. Eric stayed in his office for several hours, doing "Sheriff shit," as he often called it. Pam went to check on him after he'd gone quiet for over an hour and found him reading on the couch.

That night, Pam had made sure that I had more bottled blood than usual, saying that it would help me get back to "normal" faster. After she showed me the types of clothes she'd ordered for me, she did what she could to give me some space. She was pleased that Eric and I had worked things out, and seemed content to leave it at that.

I did find out that the other house, the one that we had been staying in since I'd come to live with him, had been something of a rarity in Eric's collection: most of them only had two bedrooms on the lower levels. One for him and one for Pam. Since it wasn't like we did any tossing and turning during the day, it didn't really matter too much to either of them. I still felt kind of weird sharing a bed with anyone, even if they came to bed after I went to sleep and got up before I did.

When I rose the following evening, I felt much more like my own self. I was still confused about the events of the previous night, but they didn't weigh so heavily on my mind. I had other things bothering me now; Eric had mentioned to me, not long after I'd turned, that vampires _rarely_ dreamed. While I knew that it was possible, it still shocked me to wake up recalling a dream I'd had. Even stranger was the dream itself. I tried my best to shake it off. As strange as they were, a few dreams didn't seem like anything worth getting worked up about.

There was no getting out of work, so we all dressed in our Fangtasia outfits and drove to the club shortly after rising. Once the club actually opened, we all took our respective posts: Eric in his office, Pam at the door, me sitting our booth.

With all of the extra noise of the people around me, both the internal thoughts and the external ruckus, I couldn't help but notice that I could sense Eric more than usual. What used to be a mild hum had turned into a nagging buzz, like a bee that was hovering around my head.

Eric and I had an unusual maker-child bond, since he wasn't my original maker. I knew it was different from the one he had with Pam, but we never really compared notes. If this obnoxious buzzing was what she had to put up with, I had no idea how she'd ever managed to get used to it. Before I had the chance to get up to ask her, I spotted her walking over to the bar with a vampire I'd never seen before.

Over the noise, I could hear Pam tell him to wait there until Eric was available. He ordered a blood as Pam went back to working the door; when he got his beverage, he turned around on his stool and surveyed the room. I looked away when he started to look in my direction, but I could tell when his gaze lingered on me. When I glanced back at him, I almost gasped: I'd never seen such beautiful eyes. They were a light green, appearing that much brighter in contrast with his long black hair. He smiled and winked at me. Oh, yeah: he was cute, and he knew it.

I smiled and went back to scanning the crowds. There wasn't much to find; with the club having been closed the previous night, there were oodles of rumors floating about as to why. We certainly weren't going to tell anyone about the fairy that had been scented by Eric's house, and we doubted any fairy would be stupid enough to set foot within a mile of a vampire bar. Still, none of us were going to complain about the fangbangers being on their best behavior.

A few minutes later, Eric came out long enough to meet the new vampire and escort him back to his office. After about half an hour, they came back out into the club. Eric sat down across from me, and the other vampire went back to the bar.

"Who's the new guy?" I asked.

Eric paused for a moment before answering; he'd clamped down on his side of the bond, and I noticed a small twitching just below one of his eyes. "Noticed him, did you?"

I shrugged. "I was just making conversation; he's a vampire I've never seen before."

"Ah. His name's Felix, he just moved here from Illinois. Anything of note going on out here?"

"No, sir. All's quiet on the home front. The fangbangers are being good little children tonight."

He laughed. "They usually are after we've been closed for a night or two. They all think something big is going down, and they're afraid to piss us off."

My phone beeped; I picked it up and saw that I had a text from Pam: _Why is Eric irritated?_

I snorted. _Why are you asking me?_ I texted back.

_Because it's a special flavor of irritation he only gets with you._ She responded.

Eric looked at me curiously as he took a drink from the blood that a waitress had just brought him.

"Pam's being weird," I said. "She thinks you're irritated with me, but if you were, you would have said something, right?"

He grimaced. "I'm not irritated with you, Sookie."

Right. That was why he was locked up tighter than a clam's ass. I rolled my eyes and texted Pam: _Yeah, he's cranky, but I have no idea why._

Pam: _You weren't making eyes at that vampire, were you?_

Eric got out his own phone and started typing. No doubt he was texting Pam as well.

I sent off a text to Pam: _You mean that cute new vampire that was making eyes at me earlier?_

Pam's response: _The one that Eric now severely dislikes? Yeah. I wouldn't go there._

I sighed and erased my text messaging history before dropping my phone back onto the table. Eric snatched it up and frowned when there was nothing for him to snoop through.

When I noticed one of my favorite fangbangers dancing, I decided to get up to go join her. Iris was a sweet girl, and quite tasty. She was one of the few regulars who wasn't looking to be turned; she just came here because she liked vampires. She and I danced for a while, but since she was human, she tired easily. I stayed on the dance floor after she left, letting myself get lost in the movement and the music.

I was startled to feel someone behind me place their hands on my hips, and I thought it was Pam or Eric until I felt anger coming through the bond I had with my maker. I whirled around and saw Felix standing a little too close to me.

"I _beg_ your pardon," I exclaimed as I took a step back. I glanced over at Eric, who looked like he was about to start caving in skulls. "Why did you think it would be a good idea to touch me?"

Felix's eyes twinkled as he smiled rakishly at me. "My apologies. I let my appreciation of your beauty overwhelm my common sense."

I scoffed at that. He might think he had a silver tongue, but he had no way of knowing just how much I'd been able to resist from Eric.

_Rövhål._

Wait, what? I looked around, trying to figure out where I'd picked up the stray thought. I recognized the word, having heard it plenty of times from Eric and Pam, but Swedish wasn't commonly heard around these parts. Eric noticed my change in mood and was himself looking concerned. Felix just looked confused; I rolled my eyes at him and walked over to the door to talk with Pam.

"You stopped answering my texts."

"Yeah, Pam, I was dancing. But Eric probably had a good read through them."

She groaned. "Why didn't you warn me?"

I ignored her question and took a deep breath of the night air. She raised an eyebrow at me and I grinned. "Just needed some fresh air. I was about to get testosterone poisoning in there."

"What happened?"

"New guy thought it would be a good idea to put his hands on me while I was dancing."

Pam's fangs instantly shot out, and she would have disappeared into the club if I hadn't grabbed her arm and held her back. She took her role as my "older sister" very seriously, and was almost as protective of me as Eric was.

"Relax, Pam. I'm sure Eric is handling it."

The humans who had just walked up to the club entrance did an immediate one-eighty when they heard Pam snarl. I smirked as I watched them walk back to their car, get in, and drive off. "Knock it off. You're scaring the customers."

She bared her fangs to me in a strange fashion. "Do I have any _give a fuck about humans_ stuck between my teeth?"

"No, and you're not going to get any Felix in there, either. There, feel that? Eric's feeling smug and satisfied. Nothing to worry about."

Less than a minute later, Felix wordlessly walked straight out of Fangtasia and left without looking at either of us. Pam caught me admiring his retreating figure and gave me a fairly hard poke on the shoulder.

"What was that for?" I balked.

"Don't go there, Sookie."

"Okay, first off: aren't you the one who keeps telling me I need to get some kind of action? And secondly..." I trailed off as I felt and saw Eric approaching. He stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I blinked at Pam, who smirked.

"You okay?" Eric asked me.

"Geez, it's not like he grabbed my boobs, y'all. I'm fine."

"That's not what had me concerned. What did you hear?"

Oh, _that_. "Nothing dangerous," I answered. "I would have let you know if there was a problem. I was just surprised to hear someone mentally calling someone else an asshole."

Pam snickered. "Why would that be surprising?"

"Because we don't get a lot of foreigners around here." I could tell my explanation wasn't clearing things up for either of them, so I continued. "They were thinking in Swedish. I've heard enough of that from the two of you to recognize a few choice words."

"How much did you hear?" Eric asked.

"Just one word. Not enough for me to figure out who it was. Now, if it's okay, I think I'm going to go get myself another blood. I should probably have extra tonight, just because of that whole... thing." I didn't want to get into specifics in public. Eric let go of me and I walked back in and had a seat at our booth.

* * *

**Eric POV**

Pam and I watched as Sookie made her way back inside. We'd suspected for some time that Sookie was able to understand a fair amount of Swedish, but we still kept to that language when talking about her. It might have been an unfair advantage, but I never claimed to be fair.

"You really don't like that new vampire, do you?"

"Least of my concerns right now, Pamela. I think it was me that she heard."

She frowned and kept quiet as she waved a few regular fangbangers into the club. "She still seems different tonight. Maybe it's a side effect from the blood? If so, it should wear off in another night or two, right?"

The real question there was: if so, was it from the fairy blood or from _my_ blood? If it was the latter, then that presented a complication. I didn't need my youngest child able to read my thoughts, and I definitely didn't need her able to read the thoughts of _any_ vampires. That was something to be addressed sooner rather than later, but it most definitely wasn't going to happen in Fangtasia.

"How does she seem different to you?" I asked my eldest.

Pam shrugged. "She's quieter, less perky than normal. Not pissy, but definitely more touchy. What about you?"

I ignored her question and went back into the club, heading straight for my office. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about Sookie all evening, and sitting in the same booth with her didn't strike me as a good idea. All night long, her presence had been in the forefront of my brain. Something was different, all right, and it was bothering me to not have it figured out yet. As I sat down in my chair, I closed my eyes and rubbed a hand over my forehead. I could almost feel Sookie's body pressed against mine, the ghost of a sensation from when I'd held her only a few moments ago.

I sat up and hit a key on my laptop to wake it up, scowling when I found nothing new in my inbox. A distraction would have been good. The knock on the door was promising in that regard, until I realized it was Sookie on the other side of it.

"Enter."

She came in and flopped down on the couch. "We need to talk."

For a brief moment I wondered if that wasn't a changeling in the shape of my youngest. The very idea that Sookie would initiate any sort of important conversation was astounding; I was glad I'd already been sitting down.

"Before you say anything," I interjected, "We should wait until we get home to discuss what you heard."

She nodded. "Yeah, I just figured that out. You seem kind of... different tonight. Are you okay?"

That word was coming up a lot. "I could ask you the same thing, and likely for the same reason."

"It's just been a weird night, you know? I mean, it started out weird."

I resisted the urge to laugh, knowing that she would likely misunderstand the source of my amusement and take offense. "Weird is relative, especially for vampires. Tell me about it."

"Well, you told me a while back that vampires _can_ dream, right?"

"It's rare, but it does happen. I take it you had a dream during your daytime rest?" When she nodded, I asked, "What was it about?"

The embarrassed look on her face intrigued me. It was a peculiar look she sometimes got when she thought I was teasing her.

"Do I _have_ to tell you?"

I couldn't help but smile. "Yes. In fact, the more detailed, the better."

Sookie cleared her throat and glowered at me. "It was about you. Well, it was about... _us_. We were, ah... doing things."

"What kind of _things_, Sookie?"

She sighed and folded her arms defensively. "We were having sex, all right?" she huffed, then gave me a skeptical look. "It was just a dream, right? I mean, you didn't..."

"No. We wouldn't be here if we had." Once I finally got Sookie into my bed, we weren't going anywhere for several nights. Fuck Fangtasia. This was an interesting development. Between her reaction to my blood and the dream...

"_Shit_," I muttered.

"What?" she asked, looking concerned.

"Too soon to tell anything, one way or the other. We need to make sure you're back to normal, first."

As confused as she might have been, I wasn't about to clear anything up for her. She obeyed when I instructed her to go back out into the bar for another bottle of blood. Before we left for the evening, I'd make sure she got some real blood in her as well; perhaps more than one donor, even.

I was beginning to think there was nothing normal about Sookie Stackhouse. She was turned before I'd even met her: there was no fucking _way_ I could have a human blood bond with her.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris (except Felix, he's _all_ mine). I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Plot-bunny wandered through my brain-yard this evening. I know this chapter is a little short, but I've already got the next chapter started, as well as an outline for some upcoming parts of this story.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

The rest of the evening proceeded without any other bizarre occurrences. Eric mostly stayed in his office, which was fine by me. Things were still a bit odd between us, and I had no idea what to do about it. Before we'd left for the club, he'd told me to keep my bag packed and to bring it with us, since we'd be staying in a different place the next day.

In other words, I was going to be living out of a suitcase until all of my new clothes arrived. Even then, I'd probably have to start carrying a larger purse around, just to keep my favorite stuff with me. I didn't like the idea of rotating houses like this, even though I knew it was a necessary precaution. Pam had told me that once we were certain that we weren't being tracked by any fairies, we could stay more than one day in a single house. Still, she'd also told me that Eric was likely to sell the house we'd initially been staying in. I found myself feeling slightly sad about that; in all my life, I'd only ever lived in three difference places: one house with my parents, the family farmhouse with Gran, and the house with Eric.

I wasn't feeling angry, but the events of the past few nights had me unsettled: the scent of fairy by the house, the incident with the fairy blood, not talking to Eric, then making up with him, then _dreaming_ about him, then meeting Felix... it was all too much. At least I wouldn't have to travel back to New Orleans for another month or so. My monthly listening-in sessions with Sophie-Anne weren't horrible, and they certainly paid well, but I wouldn't hate a week or two where absolutely nothing interesting happened.

Eric and I left Fangtasia after we closed for the night, but Pam was already long gone. She'd cut out early after finding a woman that she wanted to spend some quality time with. It was something she did every now and then: bring a human woman home with her for a romp and a snack, then glamour them and send them on their way before sunrise. Eric never let her bring anyone over to any of his houses; she had to do that on her own turf, and at her own risk. Between my being able to read the women's mind and Pam being able to glamour them, there really was little to no risk involved, which was probably why Eric didn't fuss about it.

We'd all driven in together, but Pam and her friend would be taking the woman's car. As Eric drove us to whatever place we were staying in, an odd silence settled between us. It wasn't exactly awkward, but I got the feeling that neither of us knew exactly what to say to the other.

I'd spent most of my evening trying to _not_ think about that dream I'd had of him. Back when I was human, I didn't have sexy dreams very often; when I did, they were never about anyone I knew. This dream had been very specifically about Eric, and _very_ detailed. Hell, it was doing more to convince me that I should have sex with Eric than the vampire himself had ever been able to accomplish. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as I recognized the effect that even remembering the dream was having on my body.

Eric, that bastard, snickered when I opened the window. "Thinking about me, I hope?"

"Hmn? Oh, maybe. Hey, you said that new vampire was from Illinois, right? Is he moving here or just passing through?" I tried to not laugh; I knew it was a subject change, but _he_ didn't.

He scowled. "Not originally, but he lived there most recently. And he believes himself to be relocating to Shreveport."

"You really don't like him, do you?"

"Why should I like him? I do not know him."

"No, but you're not usually this hostile about new vampires."

Without warning, Eric pulled the car over to the side of the road. Several times he opened his mouth as if to say something, but then shut it again. I'd never seen him at a loss for words, and I wasn't sure how to react. Poking at the bond didn't help any; he'd been keeping his side of it locked down most of the evening.

Finally, he spoke. "I am allowed to be hostile towards any human or vampire that shows an interest in either of my children."

A thousand questions ran through my mind, none of which seemed like a good idea to ask out loud. I highly doubted he was ever like this with Pam, and I'd never seen him act like this about any of the fangbangers. It occurred to me that the real problem wasn't Felix's interest in me, but the idea that I might be interested in Felix.

I sighed in frustration. This was a conversation I really didn't want to have, and the night was running short.

"Eric, can we just get to the house? The sun'll be up soon, and I'd really like a hot shower before I rest."

As he pulled back out onto the highway, he growled. "I do not trust him."

That wasn't saying much. I snorted. "You don't trust anyone other than me and Pam."

"That is entirely aside from the point."

When we got to the house, Eric showed me the code for the security panels as we entered the lower level. This was one of the places with two bedrooms, so I checked the rooms until I found the one that looked most like it would belong to Pam.

"That's Pam's room," Eric said.

"I know. She's not here, and I doubt she'd mind."

_Maybe _I_ would mind._

There was no one else around whose thoughts I could have picked up: no denying it or explaining it away that time. I'd known in the club that I'd caught that single word from Eric's mind, but there were enough people around that I tried to tell myself it _could_ have come from someone else. Since my back was to him, I couldn't tell if he'd picked up on the fact that I'd heard him. All I could do was hope that my body language hadn't given it away.

"Is it going to be a problem if I rest in here?" I asked. "I doubt she'd answer her phone, but I could call Pam and ask."

"Go take your shower," Eric grumbled, closing the door as he left the room.

I grabbed my phone and sent Pam a text message: _If you leave me alone with our maker again, I WILL take bleach to your clothes._

* * *

When I rose the next evening, my phone's message indicator was blinked at me. Pam had sent several panicked texts, finally saying that if I even thought about touching her wardrobe, she'd hide silver in all of my dresser drawers. I laughed and called her.

"You are _so_ lucky I'm not there, Sookie."

"Relax, Pam. I didn't do anything to your precious clothes."

"So what'd he do that was so horrible?"

I didn't want to speak too loudly, knowing that he could easily hear anything I said. "I don't know, maybe it's me that's the problem. Hey, you don't care that I stayed in your room, do you?"

I pulled the phone away from my ear to keep Pam's laughter from breaking my eardrum. "Say no more, Sookie. I'm not getting involved in _this_ one. You just remember what I said last night: don't go _you know where_."

"I just wish things could go back to normal. Back to you guys teasing me about clothes and sex, but without all this tension and awkwardness."

"See, that's part of the problem right there: you thought we weren't serious."

Once again I pulled the phone away from my head, this time to stare at it, as if Pam could really have seen the way I was frowning through the screen.

"Right," I said. "Well, I'm gonna get up and get dressed."

"Wait... are you naked and in _my bed_?"

Like I was really going to answer that. "Good-bye, Pam. See you in a few."

I didn't know how to tell Pam that I knew they weren't kidding. It wasn't like it was a huge secret that they both wanted to get in my pants; it came up at least once a night. Even Pam regularly mentioned it, and she knew I didn't swing that way. With Eric it was different, and yet not. No matter how attracted I might be to someone, I wasn't going to sleep with someone who viewed sex as about as emotionally involved as a handshake. I knew they both cared for me, but I had no reason to think that either of them would ever have romantic feelings for me.

Hell, from what I'd seen and heard in the past year, vampires as a whole weren't so big into the whole _feelings_ thing, romantic or otherwise. Which meant I either needed to give up hoping for such a thing or resign myself to an eternity of no sex.

I wasn't sure which of those options sounded worse.

After getting dressed for work, I went out to the small kitchen and found Eric already heating up blood for us. I thanked him when he handed me a bottle and drank it all down in one go.

"Anything noteworthy going on tonight?" I asked, hoping to dissolve some of the tension between us.

He smirked. "Depends on whether we're leaving the house or not. You have any more dreams?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "Sorry, no dreams of any sort. And no, I'm not giving you the details on the one I had the other day."

"Damn shame. Guess I'll just have to fill in the blanks myself."

"As far as I'm concerned, that's the only thing you'll be _filling_ tonight."

"Ooh, feisty. I like it." He grinned. "I noticed you didn't say anything about tomorrow night. Should I let Pam know she'll be running Fangtasia by herself, then?"

"Not if you value your sanity. You know how much she hates doing that." Pam had been the one to take care of the club whenever Eric and I were out training. More often than not, she'd spent half the evening blowing up his phone for the most inconsequential of reasons, just to piss him off.

He leaned in to whisper, "I'm sure she'd make an exception for special circumstances."

I failed to repress the shiver that coursed through me when I felt his lips brush my ear. Hastily I pulled back to put some space between us.

"So if I told you that I wanted to have a night off, with Pam, so that she and I could go have hours of bone-crunchingly good sex... you'd be a good sport about it?"

I couldn't help but laugh at the scowl on his face. "That's different," he protested weakly.

Snickering, I grabbed the empty bottle from his hand and went to the sink to rinse it out along with mine. While I was standing there, he came up behind me and placed his hands on the counter on either side of me.

"Why do you insist on resisting me, Sookie?" Again, I shivered as I felt his breath on the side of my neck.

"You're asking the wrong questions, Eric."

"What should I be asking?" His lips brushed my ear.

I put one of the bottles on the counter and began to rinse out the other one. "Well, it's quite clear what you and Pam want: sex. Lots of it. You both seem to think that I have no interest in it, that I don't want it. I can tell you right now that that's not the case. Why do you think that is?"

With the other bottle clean, I shut off the tap and turned around to face him. He looked down at me with a puzzled expression. "So you are interested in sex, just not with either of us?"

I laughed. "That's not what I said."

He growled. "You may be talking in circles, but at least you're talking. Tell me what you mean."

"Okay, here it is, plain and simple: if all I'm after is a good orgasm, I'm perfectly capable of getting those all by my lonesome." I ignored the lusty look on his face and continued. "Now, what could someone else do for me that I can't do for myself?"

"I can think of a great many things that I could do with you."

"I'm sure you could," I said, my voice sounding far less shaky than I felt. "But all of them are physical, aren't they?"

When he didn't immediately respond, I gently lifted one of his hands from the counter and stepped out of his reach. I went into the Pam's room, grabbed my bag, and came out to see that Eric hadn't moved. He was simply standing there, watching me. I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or disappointed that I couldn't read his mind at that exact moment.

"Come on, Eric. We're going to be late."

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris (except Felix, he's _all_ mine). I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	25. Chapter 25

**Eric POV**

I sat in my booth, glaring at the fangbangers around me. I didn't honestly care one way or the other about them, but they seemed to like it better when I looked angry. It was better for business. Sookie was my office, borrowing the laptop for a while; it was an excuse for her to get away from the crowds. Sometimes the auditory noise was too much for her on top of the mental noise.

As for me: right at that moment, I needed some time away from Sookie. Over the past few days, she'd given me more than my fair share of things to think about, not that life was ever fair in that regard. I could sense her annoyance with the way I was blocking my side of the bond, but I thought it was for the best. Before I could open it back up, I wanted to make sure it hadn't been permanently altered by the last time she'd had my blood.

That last time had been the third time she'd taken from me, but we'd only ever had one mutual exchange. Blood bonds between humans and vampires were rare; as such, not much was known about them. It wasn't known for fact if they required a mutual exchange, or if they could be achieved by the human ingesting that particular vampire's blood three times. The only known factor was that magic number three.

All of this was highly unusual; my only other child had taken my blood more than thrice, and it had never had any similar results. There was so much about the connection between Sookie and I that was abnormal, there was no telling if this was from a single factor or a combination of them.

One thing I had heard for certain: bonds with humans were far more intrusive than bonds between vampires. They were frequently viewed as detrimental, but at least part of that was tied in with the idea of having a human companion at all. The human would become a target for any of the vampire's enemies who were aware of the connection. Bonds with humans were most often done out of love, which was another reason why they carried negative connotations.

All of this could be moot: the heightening of our bond could ease up once her system was fully cleared of both my blood and the fairy blood she had ingested. If all it took was time, we would know in another night or two.

Pam sat down across from me with an expectant expression; I set aside my thoughts about Sookie.

"What?" I asked; it was obvious that she wanted to know something.

"What happened last night? Sookie texted me, threatening to bleach my clothes if I left the two of you alone again."

I raised an eyebrow and waited for her to realize that I wasn't going to answer.

She sighed. "Fine. Be that way. So did something happen tonight, before you came here? Or is this a continuation of whatever it is you're not telling me about?"

"Hmn. We did have an interesting conversation shortly after rising this evening."

"Are you going to tell me anything about it, or are you just being an ass?"

I grinned. "She said that if all she wanted was an orgasm, she could take care of that herself."

Pam bit her lip. "Bloody hell. I'd pay to see that."

"I'd _kill_ to see that." I wasn't even sure if I was kidding.

"So that's what you've been pondering over here, I take it?"

A grin and a wink were all it took to let my child believe whatever she wanted. I certainly wasn't going to tell her what I'd really been thinking about. As tempting as those mental movies of Sookie pleasuring herself might be, they were nothing new to my imagination.

No, Sookie wanted more than sex. She wanted a _relationship_. With feelings. She assumed that neither Pam nor I were capable of giving her those things; I wasn't sure if she was correct, especially given the way I could feel the bond between us changing.

It wasn't that vampires were incapable of having feelings; we simply recognized them for the weaknesses that they most often were. Pam and I were each products of our own time: had we remained human and lived out our human lives, the likelihood of either of us ever marrying for love was slim to none. After becoming vampires, it simply wasn't feasible. She and I cared for each other, definitely more than my maker and I ever had. The relationship that Pam and I had was highly unusual in the vampire world, but could it be called _love_? Perhaps it depended on the definition. Things between us had never been romantic, that much was certain.

My train of thought was derailed when I saw Felix enter the club. I really didn't like that bastard. His interest in Sookie aside, there was something about him that struck me as _wrong_.

"Did you tell him he couldn't come back?" Pam asked.

I shook my head. "No, he's still allowed in. Last night I merely suggested it was in his best interests to leave." Because I was the Sheriff, I couldn't ban any of the local Area vampires without some serious provocation. Well, I _could_, but not without potentially unpleasant consequences; I was known for being fairly lenient, and that reputation had served me well. My subjects were well-behaved and readily came to me before any problems or conflicts got out of hand. That would change if word got out that I was selectively banning people from my premises without clear and just cause.

For the time being, it was in my best interests to simply keep a close eye on him; I already had one of the Area investigators looking into Felix's personal history. While he had provoked me personally, he hadn't outright broken any human or vampire laws.

Felix sat down at the bar and ordered a whiskey and a blood. Long Shadow gave him a skeptical glance, but served both drinks. I watched as Felix mixed a few drops of the alcohol in with his blood. I had tried something similar in the past, but found it fairly boring; the alcohol wasn't enough for any effect, and I didn't care for the taste. Perhaps I would have felt differently had I enjoyed whiskey as a human. Maybe I would try mixing in a few drops of mead. For that matter, mead itself might sell well at Fangtasia, if advertised properly.

"Pam, next time you speak with our suppliers, find out which of them can provide us with mead. Research the brands they offer, then order the best."

"Sí, Señor Randompantalones."

"Don't you think our patrons would be eager to drink something that I drank as a human?" It wouldn't necessarily be the same thing, but they'd never know the difference. Neither would I, for that matter: I couldn't drink the stuff anymore, and I didn't really remember what it used to taste like.

She snapped her fingers and pointed at me. "You are _brilliant_. I'm on it. I needed to give them a call anyway."

"Any problems I should know of?"

"No, just quantity adjustments." She shrugged.

In my peripheral vision, I could see Felix scoping out the club. No doubt he was checking to see if Sookie was around. I was glad she wasn't currently available for his viewing pleasure.

It was odd: Pam could sleep with whoever she chose and it wouldn't bother me in the slightest. The idea of Sookie being with anyone else was enough to set my teeth grinding. It was something that hadn't occurred to me as a real possibility until Felix showed up, and that was after the most recent time she'd had my blood. Perhaps it was another temporary side effect.

Though she hadn't done it intentionally, Sookie had set herself up as a challenge. No matter what she said to the contrary, that she and I would have sex remained a _when_ instead of an _if,_ in my mind. Fuck, if she had given in months ago, I would have gotten her out of my system. Or would I? At this point, I knew that once would not be enough.

She really was a strange creature. There were times when I could almost forget that I wasn't her original maker. Had I been given the opportunity to know her as a human, or whatever she'd been before she was turned, I would have wanted her as my child. But why did I want her? Was it simply the pursuit, the chase? The challenge? Or was there something more going on here?

I frowned and signaled for a waitress to bring me a fresh blood.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

I sat in the office, poking through various websites on Eric's laptop. I considered getting one of my own, but couldn't really think of what I'd use it for. I didn't really know anyone online; Gran or Jason were into computers at all. I didn't have any high school friends I wanted to reconnect with. There was enough going on in my life without adding online interactions to the mix.

Every now and then, it was nice to hop on and look at websites with cute baby animals. It was hard to stay in a foul mood while cooing over baby goats and pygmy hippos. They were just too adorable. I snickered as I tried to imagine Eric looking through some of these sites.

When I realized I was hungry, I debated on going out to the bar or calling a waitress back to the office with a blood. Since I was in a much better mood, I decided to attempt to be social. I'd been keeping tabs on the thoughts of the crowd from the office, and while there were plenty of people out there, it was a fairly decent group of people. No drainers, no Fellowship spies, and not even any underage kids. Word had gotten out that Fangtasia was clamping down harder on humans who had no business being there; based on what I'd picked up, no one had figured out how or why. They didn't know there was a telepath here. That was exactly how I wanted it.

I strolled out to the main room, stopping at the bar to snag an AB negative. I could feel several sets of eyes watching me, and I ignored them all. I had just wrangled my mood into a better place, and wasn't interested in having it stomped down just yet. After finishing my drink, I walked over to the booth where only my little vampire family was allowed to sit. Eric had his arm stretched over the back of the seat. With a wicked gleam in her eye, Pam scooted to the outer edge of the bench as if she were about to get up, then stayed there.

"You're so subtle, Pam."

"Aren't I, though?"

Eric smirked at her as I sat down next to him. I leaned back and let my head rest on his arm.

"Ye gods," Pam said. "You really are a hideous tease."

"Hey, if you wanted a snuggle, you shouldn't have moved. All you have to do is ask."

"In that case..."

I interrupted her. "I know what you're going to say, and the answer is no. So what's going on out here tonight?"

Pam gave a low chuckle. "Your boyfriend's at the bar. He's been looking for you, and it seems his mommy never told him it was rude to stare."

I looked over at the bar to see Felix, who was indeed staring. When we made eye contact, his entire face lit up in a smile that would have taken my breath away if I'd still been human. An almost ethereal light seemed to glow from behind his eyes. The man was gorgeous, and he was looking at me as if I were the only woman on earth.

A pair of fingers snapping in my face pulled my attention away from him.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked, glaring at Pam.

"Yes," she deadpanned. "As I was saying: once your new clothes get here, we'll need to figure out arrangements for the houses with only two bedrooms."

"Yeah, I was wondering about that. Eric?"

"What?"

His tone wasn't snippy, but I didn't need his side of the bond to be open to know that Eric was annoyed with me. Hell, I was starting to get annoyed with him for that alone; he was blocking me out more often than not, these past few days. If he didn't at least tell me _why_, I might be tempted to resort to a full-blown baby-vampire-style temper tantrum.

I poked him in the ribs in an attempt to lighten the mood. He caught my finger and brought it to his mouth, as if he were going to bite me. Pulling my hand back, I considered sticking my tongue out at him, then thought better of it.

"What are we going to do about the houses with only two bedrooms?" I asked. "We need to figure out where I'm going to be keeping my stuff."

"You can share my closet space," he said with a shrug. "I don't use nearly as much as Pam, and that gives me the added bonus of watching you undress."

Pam frowned at that. "You know, I really should put a lot of my older clothes into storage..."

"No," I stated. "Neither of you will be getting front row seats for the Naked Sookie Show."

"But which of us gets to sleep with you?" Pam asked, grinning wickedly.

Before I could answer, Eric spoke up. "My house, my rules."

"Oh, sweet Jesus. Would you two give it up already?"

Pam snorted. "We'll give it up when you do."

I glared at her for a full minute, then smiled brightly as I stood up. "You want me to give it up? Hmn. You know, Gran always said there was more than one way to skin a cat. Be back in a bit."

While he might have tried to be less obvious about it, I'd been able to feel Felix watching me while I was talking with Pam and Eric. He turned towards me when he realized I was walking directly towards him.

"Fancy meeting you here again," he said.

I laughed. "Nothing fancy about it. My master owns the place."

"And that would be the rather large blond gentleman who's got murder in his eyes whenever he looks at me, like he's doing now?"

I didn't turn around to look; Eric would probably be able to hear us quite easily, but I didn't feel the need to acknowledge that. Or him. "Yeah, that'd be the guy. He's protective, and you're new around here. What brings you to the Area?"

He smiled. "I needed a change of scenery, and I kind of owed a friend a favor. Are you from around here?"

"Born and raised about an hour from here. Tiny town I doubt you'd ever heard of."

"Good times. Well, that would explain the accent as well as your disposition."

I gave him a curious glance; it was an odd coincidence that Bon Temps translated as "good times," and what did he mean about my disposition? "Pardon?"

"Oh, I've traveled a bit; people are generally nicer down South. When they're from here, anyway," he added, giving Eric another glance over my shoulder.

I sat down on the bar stool next to the one Felix was occupying. "I think so long as you treat me as a museum piece, you should be okay."

"Museum piece?" he asked.

"You know: look, but don't touch."

He gave me a sly smile that nearly evaporated my underwear. "Not even if I promise to be gentle?"

My bond with Eric didn't come back to life, it reared a very ugly head and roared at me. I'd never felt him that furious, and it was so overwhelming that I could barely think. As I turned to look at him, he stood up, sent me a maker's call, and started walking back towards his office.

Without a word or a second glance to Felix, I got up and followed Eric.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris (except Felix, he's _all_ mine). I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	26. Chapter 26

**Sookie POV**

The door was still open when I got there; Eric was already sitting behind his desk. If I hadn't felt the emotions pouring off of him, there would have been no other indication that anything was bothering him.

"Close the door and sit down," he ordered.

"Yes, sir." I tried to rein in my own anger as I did what he said. I hadn't defied him: he'd never outright told me to not interact with Felix. The worst I could come up with was that Eric was jealous, and I was trying to figure out how exactly that was _my_ fault.

He sat silently looking at me, leaning back in his chair with his hands folded and resting on his stomach. I wasn't going to speak first; Eric didn't get mad often, but when he did it was best to stay out of his way. For several minutes we sat there; it gave me some time to calm down, which was probably a good thing. Whether or not he did the same, I couldn't tell: he was back to blocking me from sensing his emotional state.

"For _fuck's_ sake, Sookie; I know you're not stupid."

"Sir, I..."

"Have no idea what you have done wrong, that much is clear. You are young, and far too trusting; Pam would never have fallen for his act. Can you seriously not see what he is doing?"

"Who, Felix?"

He glared at me for a moment before relaxing his features. "Yes. Felix, who failed to inform his new Sheriff that he was here because he _owed a favor to a friend_. You should know by now that vampires take favors very seriously, and we have few people that we label as _friends_. Please tell me that you caught his reference to your home town."

How was I supposed to know what Felix had or hadn't told Eric? I tried to not get angry about that; even though I had been catching the occasional stray thought from him recently, I couldn't read his mind and I wasn't psychic.

"I caught that, but people say 'good times' all the time. Isn't it possible that it was a coincidence?"

"Possible, but not likely."

Eric's phone beeped; he picked it up, looked at the screen, and typed out a quick response before tossing it back down on his desk. He stood up, walked over to his bookshelves, pulled out a book and handed it to me: Frank Herbert's _Dune_.

I took the book and put it down in my lap.

"No, start reading it now. It will give you something to do while wait."

"What are we waiting for? And can I read something else, or does it have to be this book?" I knew I was pushing my luck, but science-fiction just wasn't my thing.

"Pam will be reporting back soon enough. You might learn something from that book, unlike that crap you normally read."

"I'm going to learn something from sci-fi? Like what, how to pilot a flying car?"

He shot me a stern glance. "It is a story about the nature of power. As a genre, science fiction is highly allegorical; it is rarely ever simply about robots and flying cars."

I grumbled and flipped through the pages, noticing that certain passages had been highlighted or underlined. There were notes in the margins, but they weren't in English. Eric's phone beeped again; he frowned at it before typing out another response. He then grabbed a folder from a corner of his desk and started flipping through the loose pages it held.

It looked like I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. I opened the book to the first chapter and started reading.

A phone rang from one of Eric's desk drawers; as he retrieved it, I saw that it was a pre-paid phone. He kept a stash of those on hand, using them primarily for communicating with his informants. He answered in a language I didn't even recognize, and the frown on his face only deepened as the conversation progressed.

* * *

**Pam POV**

If I'd had any doubts regarding Eric's suspicions of Felix, they disappeared as soon as I overheard the conversation between him and my little sister. The bastard was here for a reason, but he had another thing coming if he thought he was getting anywhere near our Sookie.

As for Sookie, I was ready to grab her by the shoulders and shake her until her skull rattled. As much as Eric tried to mask it under layers of teasing and flirting, he cared for her. It was obvious to me. He and I had known each other for centuries. If they didn't get themselves figured out soon, I would be forced to resort to drastic measures. For him to care about someone in that manner was completely unknown to me before now. She had barely known him a year; she had no context for how big a thing it was.

That didn't diminish my desire to smack some sense into her.

Eric had let me know that he was going to be keeping Sookie in his office; my job was to watch Felix and follow him when he left. Being as small as I was, it was far easier for me to remain unnoticed while shadowing someone.

I had to give Felix this much: the fucker had a serious pair of brass ones. Not five minutes after Eric and Sookie left the main room, he started heading over to the booth. I sent Eric a quick text letting him know that the asshole was probably going to try to talk to me.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked with a smile. Sookie might have found him charming, but his eyebrows bothered me; they seemed to have a life of their own.

"Yes. But you can sit, for now."

He sat down and took a sip of his blood. "I hope Sookie isn't in any sort of trouble."

"And how did you know that was her name? I didn't hear any introductions between you two."

He tilted his head and gave me a crooked smile. "I asked someone."

Given that he could have overheard her name at any point, I didn't push the issue. "What exactly do you think you're doing here?"

"I think I'm having a drink with a beautiful, but remarkably hostile, woman. Why? What do _you_ think I'm doing here?"

I scowled at him; I had no idea what he was doing here, but his intentions were highly suspect. "Why don't you just tell me?"

"I'll tell you what I told the Sheriff: I needed a change of scenery."

"And a friend who you owe a favor," I prompted. If he thought anything in this bar happened without me or Eric knowing about it, he was a bigger idiot than I realized.

"What? No, I don't need any of those." There was that sly grin again. I wanted to scrape it off of his face. Slowly. With sharp implements. He looked down at his wrist watch and frowned.

"Late for something?" I asked with a smile.

"Well, since I'm technically dead, I'm always _late_. Listen, it wasn't nice meeting you, but I think I'm going to mosey."

"You do that. I don't look forward to seeing you again."

When I heard his footsteps cross the threshold of the front door, I sped there and took note of his direction. I kept an eye on him as I sent Eric another text, letting him know that the chase was on.

Felix whistled as he walked along at a normal human pace; his hands were in his pockets. Everything about him indicated he was completely at ease, totally casual. Naturally, that meant he was anything _but_ casual or at ease. Keeping to the shadows, I began to track him, making sure to tread lightly so that my shoes made no noise on the pavement.

Several blocks away from Fangtasia, Felix ducked into a 24-hour convenience store. I stayed outside and waited for him to come back out. Inside the well-lit building, he quite clearly walked into the bathroom. I frowned: vampires had no need of such places. Five minutes passed, then ten. After a full twenty minutes, I cursed and went into the store. A quick check of the attendant indicated that he'd already been glamoured into forgetting that Felix was ever there; I did followed suit.

When I opened the bathroom door, there was no one in there. The window was still firmly latched. Where the hell had he gone? And _how?_

My phone rang. Eric.

"I've lost him," I said in Swedish as I answered the phone.

"Given the information I have just received, I cannot say I am surprised."

"Fuck you, too."

He growled. "It is a statement about him, not you. Come back to Fangtasia. We have much to discuss."

* * *

When I returned to the club, everything in the main room was normal. The vampires could sense the tension and knew that something was going on, but the humans were oblivious. Must be nice.

I went straight back to the office, where I knew Eric would be; Sookie was there as well, pouting as she pretended to read a book. Given that the cover lacked a half-naked man, I knew she was only reading it because she'd been ordered to do so. No wonder she had fucked up notions about love and sex, what with all the nonsense she ladled into her head.

Once the door was closed behind me and I was seated in front of him, Eric spoke. I was surprised he was talking in English, but he must have wanted Sookie to be aware of what was going on. She picked up on that as well and set the book aside. We weren't worried about being overheard: the room was soundproofed and we regularly checked it for listening devices.

"One of my informants has gotten back to me. I have a list of different aliases, but Felix Yore appears to be the vampire's real one; a man bearing that name arrived in the States in 1836, coming from Meath County in Ireland. He lived in various parts of Chicago from 1941 until about a year ago."

I whistled. "That takes balls, staying that long in one city."

Eric looked irked at my interruption, but waved it off. "It is a very large and sectional city. He fell off the map entirely for nearly two months, and was next seen in New Orleans. Since then, he appears to have been working his way steadily north."

"He's looking for something," I suggested.

"Or some_one_." He and I both turned to look at Sookie. "If he is working for someone, it is not currently known who that might be. It is possible that he may be a free agent. Either way, his motives are unclear. This is not the first time he has raised suspicions, but he manages to evade capture every time he is followed."

Which would explain why he wasn't surprised that Felix had gotten away from me. I might be good at shadowing someone, but this asshole was obviously a well-practiced Houdini.

Eric might have been frightening to some, but they didn't know the half of it; his informants were insanely efficient. I was amazed at what they'd been able to find out about Felix in two short days.

"Okay, so we know he's here for some mysterious reason. What do we do about it?" I asked.

"As he has moved north, he hasn't bothered to check in with any of the other Area's Sheriffs," Eric said. "That would imply that whatever it is he is seeking, he believes it to be within Area Five."

"Eric, do you think this might be related to the visitor we had at the house?"

He shook his head. "That had occurred to me, but it would imply that a vampire was working for or with a fairy. Such occurrences are extremely rare, and even rarer still are the instances where such a situation ended well for both sides."

"Couldn't we just _ask_ him why he's here?" Sookie asked.

I turned to her and blinked. "Really, Sookie? _Really?_"

"What?" she exclaimed defiantly. "Okay, so he hasn't been entirely forthcoming with you two, but he seems interested in speaking with me. Why can't I just ask him?"

Eric leaned back and rubbed his hands over his face. "Sookie, you are not getting anywhere near Felix until you acknowledge that you were wrong about him."

She huffed. "Look, you've adequately proven that there _is_ something shifty about him, but I never said he was innocent or harmless. I haven't really _said_ anything about him."

I laughed. "So you figured it was a good idea to hook up with a sketchy vampire? What the bloody screaming _fuck_, Sookie?"

With an exasperated sigh, Sookie folded her arms across her chest and glared at me. I tilted my head at Eric, waiting for him to put her in her place. It stunned me how much bullshit he was letting her get away with. Then again, given the recent nature of his feelings for her, perhaps it wasn't so surprising.

"Enough," he snapped. "Next time he comes to Fangtasia, I will speak with him privately."

"Why not go to him and get it over with?" I asked.

"Because he has evaded the State's best trackers for almost a year now. I am not letting him drag me on a wild goose chase all over the Area. He comes here, we have resources to hold him."

As pissy as we all were with the situation and each other, I couldn't help but smile at that. That was a type of quality time I wouldn't mind spending with Felix.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris (except Felix, he's _all_ mine). I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I wanted to make sure that the next one was completed before posting this one. Trust me: you'll be glad for that. There is another note at the bottom of this page, please be sure to read that as well!

* * *

**Eric POV**

Once we had wrapped up our meeting, Pam went back out into the main area of the club to keep an eye on things. My informant had let me know that he was still trying to dig up more details about Felix; I stayed in the office on the off-chance that he called back that evening.

Sookie picked up her book and relocated to the couch. I was pleased to see that she was getting engrossed in the story; it made it that much easier for me to surreptitiously watch her.

Her long blonde hair was down; she'd pulled it all to one side of her neck, and the curled ends were resting lightly on her chest. She was wearing a red corset with black embroidery and a loose skirt that would have come down to just above her knees, had she been standing. I wondered if her tights went all the way up, or if they were clipped to a garter belt; I knew that Pam had purchased all manner of lingerie for Sookie over the months, but had no idea how much of it she regularly wore. She had kicked off her high heels and tucked her legs under her as she sat; her knees peeked out from under the edge of her skirt.

My fangs weren't the only parts of me eager to taste her, to touch her.

How many women had I taken in this office? More than I could bother to recall, all of them primped and painted in an attempt to make themselves more attractive. They'd had to work to achieve a beauty that came naturally to the woman in front of me. With some shock and no small amount of concern, I realized that I wanted more of her than just her body. I wanted to get into every last bit of her being. I wanted her to be as consumed by desire for me as I was for her.

_Fuck_.

Forcing myself to look away, I turned back to the papers on my desk and attempted to concentrate on the work in front of me.

When we left Fangtasia, I thought it best to take us to one of the houses with three bedrooms. We all needed to have the option of getting some time and space away from each other. I did not like how this situation was affecting our interactions, nor did I like the triangular politics at play. Pam was frustrated with both Sookie and me; Sookie felt like we were needlessly ganging up on her; I was trying to keep them both safe in the midst of everything that was going on.

As soon as we entered the lower level of the house, Sookie went straight for the unclaimed bedroom and shut the door behind her. Pam growled low in her throat and stomped off towards her own room. For a moment, I stood there wondering if I should go after either of them or just leave them be.

Opting for the latter course of inaction, I settled on the living room couch with my laptop. If they wanted to talk, I would be available. Sounds filtered through the walls: Pam was sorting through her wardrobe and organizing her shoes; Sookie had gotten the water running for a shower.

The water shut off after about twenty minutes, and shortly after that, Pam emerged from her room and went straight into Sookie's room without knocking. She didn't even glance at me. The two of them spoke in low whispers. As tempted as I was to listen in, I let them have their privacy.

After what sounded like a fairly short conversation, Pam left Sookie's room. She gave me a quick grin before disappearing back into her room. When Sookie's door opened, I wondered if it was going to be like this for the rest of the night, doors opening and closing. I sighed and tried to focus on the words on the screen in front of me.

It surprised me when Sookie sat next to me on the couch. I looked over and saw that she was wearing a pair of boxer shorts and a loose t-shirt, both of which she had stolen from me several weeks ago. My initial response had been irritation: she had plenty of her own clothes. Wearing my clothing, while refusing my advances, felt like she was sending mixed messages. Later, it occurred to me that it worked to my advantage: she would be able to pick up my scent when she was alone in her room. Scent association was a powerful thing.

"I'm sorry, Eric."

My hands still on the keyboard, I froze. "For what, specifically?"

"I know I've been a huge brat lately, and I'm sorry."

"It has been a difficult week."

"Yeah, and it's not right of me to take it out on you. Except, you know, for those parts of it that were your fault." Her tone was light, and she grinned in a way that let me know she was teasing.

I set the laptop down on the coffee table and pulled Sookie closer to me. She leaned in and wrapped an arm around my waist as she lay her head against my chest. Even if our snuggles were more platonic than I would have liked, I enjoyed the physical contact. It wasn't the first time I was glad that both of my children enjoyed cuddling almost as much as I did.

"You know I am just trying to protect you."

I felt her nod against my chest. "I know."

"Are you and Pam back on good terms again?"

She sighed. "For now, at least."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She was quiet for so long, I wondered if I'd lost track of the sun's progress. "I do, but I'm still trying to sort it out in my head."

"I am never far from you, and always available when you want to talk." If what she was working through was what I hoped it was, I would not press the issue. She had to come to her own conclusions, if they were to truly mean anything.

Unexpectedly, a strange wave of fear rolled through her, quite opposite of the reaction I was going for. As I gently ran a hand over her head in an attempt to soothe her, I noticed that her hair was still wet from her shower. The dampness had seeped into my shirt, not that I minded.

"What's worrying you, Sookie?" If she said his name, I would be sure to cause Felix lasting harm next time I laid eyes on him.

"Everything's changing."

"Change is one of the few constants in our lives; the idea of change is often more intimidating than the changes themselves turn out to be. Anticipation of an event often has a stronger impact than the event itself."

"And that's a good and bad thing, I know: you've told me that before." She groaned. "I can feel the sun pulling at me, but I don't want to go to rest yet."

Her arms tightened around me. She wasn't the only one cursing the dawn at that moment. "You can lie here until the sun takes you. I'll get you tucked in."

"Mm, thank you," she murmured. I looked down when I felt her lift her head; she smiled and leaned up to brush her lips against mine before once again resting her head on my chest.

My mind raced with thoughts of all the things I wanted to do with her; it took all of my willpower to not act on them. The lack of time was only part of of my reasoning: if any progress was to be made, I would have to let Sookie be the one to make the first move. What I wanted from her could not be taken or compelled; it could only be given of her own free will.

When I felt her body settle into the dead weight brought on by the day, I gathered her small body into my arms and carried her to her room. After getting her under the covers of her bed, I stretched out next to her and gently brushed some stray hairs from her face. I ran my thumb across the soft swell of her lips and remembered the feel of them against my mouth. It would be so easy to press my lips to hers once again, but I would not take advantage in that fashion. Instead, I placed a kiss on her forehead and made myself leave her room.

Stunned at the rather sudden change in Sookie's behavior, I couldn't resist indulging my curiosity. I knocked on Pam's door, knowing I only had short time before she, too, went to rest for the day.

"Why are you knocking? Come on in," she called out.

I opened the door and folded my arms across my chest as I leaned against the frame. Pam was already in bed, and she set aside the fashion magazine she'd been reading as she looked at me.

"Pam, what on earth did you say to her?"

She smiled. "I suggested she learn to recognize the difference between love and infatuation. I might have given her a few clues to get her started."

Before I could open my mouth to reply, she snorted. "Don't _even_, Eric. Just say thank you, close the door, and leave me to gloat."

With a grin, I did exactly that.

* * *

**[name] POV**

I glared at Felix as he entered the cabin. "You're late."

"I was followed."

"That's because you went into Fangtasia again. You know damn well that contact was never part of the plan."

Felix sat down at the table across from me. "Plans change."

"I am far stronger than will ever be, boy. Don't be so eager to start what will only finish you."

"You're not that much older than me," he scoffed.

"Perhaps not, but my blood is neither as tainted nor as diluted as yours."

"Can I help it if I'm drawn to her? We are the same, she and I."

I snorted. "A bird may love a fish, but where would they live?"

"Did you _really_ just quote Drew Barrymore at me?" he asked with a smirk.

"You do realize that even if I had, you recognized the quote as being from a chick flick? I was paraphrasing _Fiddler on the Roof_, but the source is irrelevant: it still applies."

He ignored the jibe. "We're vampires now; such distinctions don't matter anymore."

"Don't they? You think that would stop _them_? You do remember that the whole point of this is to keep her safe, right?"

"As if you'd let me forget. Of course I fucking remember."

"And if your family keeps tabs on you, as hers does on her, how safe do you think she'll really be?"

His eyes narrowed. "You know damn well I've been disowned. You wouldn't have asked me to help you find her, if you weren't already aware of that."

We glared at each other for several long minutes. As always, he broke eye contact first. He knew I could take him down, and would only ever push me so far.

"Well," he sighed, "That master of hers is insanely protective. I doubt you have anything to worry about as long as she's with him. She's still young; too young to be left on her own. He'll keep her with him for several more years at minimum, and from what I've seen, I don't imagine him releasing her anytime soon."

"He is attached to her?" I knew Eric wasn't her original maker; if there were emotions between them two of them, that would make all of this much easier, much less worrisome.

"If such a thing were possible, I would say he has feelings for her."

"Does she return those feelings?"

A gloating smile appeared on his face. "She seemed more attracted to me."

I cursed. "_Tell me_ you didn't let your spark shine in her presence."

"You want me to tell what you want to hear, or do you want the truth? You know they can only be stifled so much, and are drawn to each other."

"No. I cannot condone any relationship between the two of you."

His bright green eyes flared golden for a brief moment before he regained control of whatever emotion had gripped him. "It's not your decision."

I smiled. "It's not yours, either. If Eric is as protective of her as you claim, do you honestly think he would ever let her be with someone like you?"

Felix scowled at me and stood up. "He might, if he were more fully informed."

"You do that, and I'll..."

"You'll what? Send your family after me, thus putting her in their line of sight? I don't think so. You and yours might be able to kill me, but I'll do my best to take as many of you with me as I can."

He started walking towards the door. I mentally flipped the locks. "Where do you think you're going? This isn't over."

"Sun'll be up soon, and I'm sure as shit not staying the day here with you. Lock the doors all you want. You know that can't stop me, Fintan."

With a pop, Felix vanished from the cabin.

* * *

A/N, part 2: I know, the "[name] POV" bit looks like a mistake, but that was an intentional trick to keep you guessing. Aren't I a meaner?

The next chapter is almost done, and I hope to post it later tonight or early tomorrow morning. As of tomorrow, I'm going to be doing a bit of traveling, so I make no promises about my writing/posting schedule for the next week or so.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris (except Felix, he's _all_ mine). I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Two updates in one day? Goodness! Well, I can't make any guarantees about updates for the next week or so; I wanted to make sure this chapter was out before I flew off to colder pastures. After all, last chapter dropped some pretty big bombs (or at least, confirmed some of your suspicions).

* * *

**Sookie POV**

When I rose for the evening, the bond with Eric was one of the first things I noticed; either he'd consciously stopped blocking me, or he hadn't yet realized I was awake. Being able to feel him again made me recognize just how much better I felt with the bond open; I'd missed it. It didn't hurt matters that he was a good mood.

I stayed in bed for a while, thinking about the events of the previous night. Sometimes it really did feel like Pam and Eric treated me as if I were a baby; then I would remember just how much older than me they really were. It was easy to forget, since they both looked so young. They had centuries of knowledge and experience, whereas I was barely halfway through my second decade.

When I was a teenager and thought I knew everything, Gran pulled me aside one day and called me out on it. She asked me if I knew more at age fifteen than I did at age ten. I'd replied that of course I did. She then asked me if I thought I'd know more at age twenty than I had at age fifteen. Again, my answer was yes, I would know more. The third and final question she asked me that day was why, then, did I think I could possibly know more than her, when she was two generations my senior?

Multiply that by... well, a lot: that was Eric and Pam. The thing I had to learn was how to pick my battles with them, learn when to stand my ground and when to give in. I was still trying to figure out where Felix stood in all of that.

Pam had given me some context last night, when she and I were talking quietly after my shower. She acknowledged that both Felix and Eric wanted me, but asked me which one I thought would be more respectful of my boundaries. She was quick to point out that most other vampires would have already compelled me into having sex with them, had they been my master. No matter how much Eric might want me, he would never force or compel me along those lines.

To be fair, neither of us knew Felix well enough to know whether or not the same could be said for him. While he couldn't compel me, he was stronger than I was. Physical strength aside, there were plenty of other ways to coerce or pressure someone into doing something they didn't want to do. Even if he turned out to be above all of that, Pam asked me if I thought I'd remember him in a decade. Again, it was something I had no way of knowing; she knew that, but wanted me to keep that in mind when I interacted with him in the future.

When I went out and sat next to Eric, I tried to pay closer attention to his body language and to what he _wasn't_ saying. I knew it would have made things so much easier if only I could have read his mind; but conversely, if I could have done so, it wouldn't work out between us. Only with a vampire could I have something that approximated a relationship that normal humans could have.

Eric was my maker: I'd never be able to really forget him. The connection that he and I had would last as long as we were both around. That meant that if things went sour between us, there was no getting away from it. The stakes were higher; there was more to lose. It frightened me.

When he sensed that fear from me, he did his best to comfort me. He asked about it, and didn't really push me when I gave him a half-assed answer. I could sense that he wanted so much more from me, and if the sun hadn't been so close on our heels, I might have given serious thought to giving in.

As nice as it was to simply lay in my bed and think the night away, I knew I needed to get up. If nothing else, I needed sustenance.

I pulled back the covers, got up, and stepped out into the living room to find my vampire family already dressed. Pam was reading some glossy magazine; Eric was browsing a section of the newspaper.

Neither of them was dressed for Fangtasia. Well, Eric might have been; he had on a pair of black jeans and a green v-neck shirt. He was the boss, he could wear whatever he pleased. Pam had on something that I would have considered dressy, but it was her version of casual: a pink pants suit of some type. Eric once told me that he'd seen her in a pair of jeans, but I didn't believe him. I couldn't imagine her being caught finally dead in denim.

"We skipping out tonight?" I asked.

"Hell _and_ yes," Pam answered.

"I will go in for a short amount of time," Eric said. "But I won't be there the entire evening."

I went into the kitchen to heat up a bottle of blood. Eric had long ago told me that all of the houses had full kitchens in the lower levels to add to the resale value, but he didn't quite understand why humans rarely used more than one kitchen per house. Then again, I didn't understand why he refused to ever rest above ground. Every last one of his houses were equipped with light-tight shutters on all of the windows. Without separate entrances, these basements couldn't really qualify as separate apartments. When my breakfast was ready, I took it back into the living room and curled up in a chair.

"What are the plans for the evening?" I asked.

"We don't really have any," Pam said. "Well, you and I don't. Mr Responsible over there insists on going to Fangtasia to take care of business and make sure everything is running smoothly."

That came as something of a surprise. Given the recent kerfuffle with the Felix situation, I would have assumed that there were big mysterious plans afoot. We hadn't taken a simple night off in months; I wasn't sure what to do with myself if I wasn't working or training. Even on the family nights we had with Jason and Gran, we usually went to Fangtasia afterward.

"It's still early. We could give Gran a call, see if she's up for a visit."

Eric shook his head. "You are not going to Bon Temps without me. We will see them in a few days."

Right, because sleepy little Bon Temps was so much more dangerous than Shreveport. I waited until he was looking away, then stuck my tongue out at him. Pam caught me doing it and chuckled.

"I can't remember the last time we didn't have something planned," I said. "What are we supposed to do with ourselves? Just sit around like bumps on a log? Hey, maybe we could go catch a movie?"

Eric was quick to veto that idea. "You want to go sit in the dark with a room full of strangers? I think not."

"Oh, come on," I said. "It's not like we can't see perfectly in that level of lighting."

"There's _always_ shopping," Pam said with a smile. "Especially if Eric gives us his plastic."

He looked at us over the edge of the newspaper. "Both of you have plenty of your own money that you are free to spend as you wish."

"But you have so much more of it," Pam protested.

"She has a point, Eric." I wasn't hurting for cash; between the money I got from Fangtasia and my regular sessions with the Queen, I was sitting pretty. Gran's house had been as repaired as it needed to be, and I'd even put some money towards fixing up Jason's place. This year for Christmas, I was thinking about getting him the pool table he'd always wanted. I had no idea where he was going to put the darn thing, but that wasn't my problem to figure out.

If Pam and I went out shopping, I had no idea what I'd buy. My new clothes would be arriving any night, and I wasn't big into gadgets or electronics. Even if I could think of something, I wouldn't really need Eric to pay for it. But every now and then it was fun to gang up on him with Pam.

Somehow I managed to keep a straight face when she gave Eric a serious set of puppy dog eyes. He flipped her off and went back to reading; she glared at me and gestured her head in his direction. I grinned, then started giving Eric a pitiful look as well. Just for added measure, I stuck my lower lip out in a pout.

"I am _not_ looking at either of you," he said.

I whimpered.

He looked.

Eric knew when he was outnumbered. He reached into his wallet and, with a sigh, handed Pam his black Amex.

* * *

**Eric POV**

I knew that Pam could keep the two of them safe, and Sookie had turned out to be a better fighter than I'd originally thought she'd be. Neither of them liked fighting, but they were quite capable of defending themselves. Even without the mysterious fairy visitor and this Felix asshole, random attacks by bigots were always a possibility.

Pam and I discussed it before Sookie rose for the evening; we figured that if Felix was going to seek her out again, he would come to Fangtasia first. I wanted to speak with him alone, and the only way that was going to happen was if Sookie wasn't there.

I would have much rather spent the evening with my girls, but the sooner this matter was dealt with, the better.

As predicted, Felix showed up a the club about an hour after it opened. Something was off about him. Rather than displaying his usual cocky arrogance, he appeared to be on edge. Either he was no good at masking his body language, or he was more nervous than he was capable of hiding. Instead of looking around, he walked straight to the booth where I was sitting. He sat down without requesting permission; if he wanted to get on my good side, he was going about it all wrong.

Not that he had a chance of _ever_ getting into my good graces.

"Just the vampire I was looking for," he said.

I raised en eyebrow at Felix, then looked down at my own self. "I didn't think I could be so easily confused with my child."

"Ah, but she's not really yours, is she?"

"For all intents and purposes, and especially as far as you are concerned, yes she is."

Felix leaned in, narrowed his eyes and kept his voice low. "This isn't a conversation we want to have in such a public venue."

I smiled. "I know just the place."

We stood and walked back to my office. I let him enter first: no way was I giving him the merest glance of my back. He took a seat in a chair; I leaned against the edge of my desk, in front of him. I would have towered over him even if seated, but wasn't above using my height to intimidate him.

"Start talking," I said.

"I know you don't trust me, and that's actually a good thing: it means Sookie is in good hands."

I gave him a hard stare. Was he aware of some threat to her? "I think you need to explain yourself."

"She isn't like most vampires, is she?"

"Now, what would make you think a thing like that?"

"I'll take that as a yes. Let's just cut the waltzing and bullshit, shall we? I know what she is because it's what I am."

"And what are you?"

"A vampire who, before being turned, was part-fairy."

I kept my face blank. I had long suspected that she was something other than human, or something in addition to being human, before being turned. That she was part-fairy wasn't a surprise, all things considered. I wondered if Felix had been the one we had scented outside the house. "Are you able to mask your scent?"

"Not in the slightest. I didn't have much of a fairy scent before dying; my blood was too diluted for that. More than Sookie's was, from what I've heard."

"How much do you know about her?"

He laughed. "More than you, it seems."

"Oh, really? What's her favorite color? What is the first thing she does when she rises in the evenings? What sort of movies or books does she prefer? You may know more about her heritage than I do, but you don't really know Sookie. Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise."

As we each tried to stare the other down, I saw his anger levels rise. Mine remained steady, receding slightly when he looked away first.

"Tell me why you are here. Tell me who sent you," I ordered.

Felix sighed. "For years, Sookie's family has been keeping tabs on her. I'm not sure how a vampire managed to turn her, with them keeping watch. Whatever the case, they lost track of her once she was turned. They managed to find her again in New Orleans, just under a week later, but lost the trail again. From what I understand, they lost her when she was drained the second time."

"How would such an event cause them to lose track of her?" I asked, interrupting him.

"Fairies can track each other by the blood in our veins, but it's iffy after being turned. When we're drained, it takes a few days for that connection to come back. Since they'd lost her twice in New Orleans, they figured she was staying in that area. After being unable to travel freely there, it being so heavily populated by vampires, one of her relatives contacted me to help in the search."

"This would be the friend who you owed a favor," I said.

"Yes, but that's not a story you're going to hear today, if at all. It's not relevant to anything going on now."

"So you started working your way north and eventually found Sookie here in Shreveport."

"Obviously, yes."

I smiled. "I could hand you over to any of the other Sheriffs in the state for trespassing and evasion of protocol."

He shrugged. Given his record of being able to evade his trackers, no doubt he had more than a few tricks up his sleeve. "You could, but it wouldn't be in your best interests to do so."

"And why is that?"

"An act of aggression against me will be interpreted by her family as an act of war against them. Do you really want to go to war with the fae?"

I was fairly certain that he was lying, but that wasn't a risk I was willing to take. Not without a _lot _more information.

"What exactly do the fae want with Sookie?"

"For now?" He shrugged. "Not much, especially since she can no longer bear children. I suspect that eventually, they will want to meet her."

As much self-restrain as I might have, even I would have trouble containing myself around a full-blooded fairy. If Sookie's fairy relatives wanted to meet her, they would not be able to do so with me present. Not unless they could mask their scent. I knew of one fairy could do just that, but I hoped he was of no relation to my child: he was too important in the fae realms, too powerful.

"You don't react to their scent, do you?"

"No. Neither does Sookie, I imagine. If she had an interest in meeting her kin, I would be able to escort her in your stead."

He was a damn fool if he thought _that_ was going to ever happen. I stared hard at him for a moment. "That was not part of the original plan, was it? You were hired simply to find her and then disappear. You chose to stick around. Tell me why."

He frowned while he considered how much to tell me. "I've been watching far longer than I've let my presence be known, and that was mostly out of personal curiosity. Sookie is the only other vampire I'm aware of who has fae heritage. Most people with fae blood do not survive being turned."

I stood up, walked around the desk and sat down in my chair. "I am not foolish enough to assume that you have just laid all of your cards out on the table, but you have been more forthcoming than I expected."

It didn't need to be said that since he was giving up so much information, he expected something in return. I enjoyed that awkward moment just before he realized that I wasn't going to ask him what he wanted.

"In exchange for the information I have given you, I would like to be guaranteed access to see and speak with Sookie."

"And if she does not wish to see or speak with you?"

Felix cleared his throat. "Then I will respect her wishes on the matter."

I waited a minute or two; just long enough to make him squirm. "I will consider it. For now, I will refrain from alerting the other Louisiana Sheriffs to your negligence in following proper protocols."

While Felix presented problems of his own, the primary underlying issue would not go away if or when he disappeared. Sookie's family would still want to keep an eye on her, might still want to contact her.

"In the meantime, I imagine you will want to update this relative of Sookie's... what did you say his name was?"

He smiled shrewdly. "I didn't."

"And let me guess: you won't."

"Not just yet, no. This may be the end of this round, but the game is far from over, Sheriff."

I didn't attempt to stop him when he stood up and left my office. I had already wrapped up all of the business that I needed to take care of, and there was at least one conversation that Sookie and I needed to have before the night was over.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris (except Felix, he's _all_ mine). I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: I had a wonderful holiday! I hope the same can be said for all of you lovely people. I didn't get to update during my wee vacation, but I wrote this chapter in bits and pieces while I was traveling. Hope it was worth the wait!

* * *

**Sookie POV**

Pam and I were halfway through the mall when her phone rang. It was Eric; he had wrapped up business at the club, and would meet us wherever we were. When Pam told him that we were still shopping, he told us to wait there until he arrived.

We were slightly confused by that: we had a set of code phrases that we used to indicate various problems that we wouldn't want to talk about over an unsecured cell phone line. He hadn't used any of them. Given that, we had no real reason to think anything was wrong. Perhaps he just wanted to make sure we didn't inadvertently lead him on some random goose chase.

While going through various shops, I had found a few things that I liked, but nothing that I thought I'd really wear. Pam was having more fun bitching about clothes than actually selecting clothes to try on or purchase. It almost seemed to be therapeutic for her.

I'd lost track of time, but it wasn't too much longer before Eric showed up. His hair was tangled and tousled: he'd flown, not driven. He didn't look upset, and I didn't feel any concern or panic through the bond.

"What's up, Eric?"

He shrugged. "Didn't feel like driving. Too much traffic out there tonight."

I raised an eyebrow. When he wasn't in a real hurry to get anywhere, Eric viewed traffic as a challenge; other cars in the road were obstacles to be dodged, like it was a game of sorts. He enjoyed weaving between semi-trucks and SUVs like I enjoyed dancing in Fangtasia.

Pam elbowed me and whispered loud enough for Eric to hear, "He's lying, but let's pretend like we believe him."

He shot her a look that might have scared anyone else, but we knew him far too well. There was just enough hint of a grin to show that he was amused. Something _was_ kind of odd about him tonight, but he would tell us when he told us. We trusted him to keep us safe: sometimes that meant leaving us uninformed. If it was important and he wanted us to know about it, I imagined it wouldn't happen in so public a place.

Hanging out in a mall as a vampire was a strange thing. There weren't any good malls in Bon Temps, but in the past few years before I'd turned, Tara and I would take occasional trips out the malls in Monroe and Shreveport. We would walk in the climate-controlled halls, browsing, window shopping, and every now and then we'd actually buy something. It was a neat thing to do for a few hours. Afterward, we'd find a brass-and-ferns type restaurant and have lunch or dinner before driving back to our little town.

As a vampire, it was far less enjoyable. I was glad I didn't need to breathe; the smells were overwhelming. Almost all of the clothing stores had jewelry sections, and most of those reeked of silver. I learned that silver was one of the components in white gold; even that stuff smelled bad to me. The places that didn't have that sickly-sweet and sour scent were all filled with dry, recycled air. I could hear way too many conversations going on around me. The only plus side was that my mental shields were better than they had ever been when I was human; I was able to completely block out the thoughts of the people around me. I only wished I could do the same for their voices.

I did miss the idea of sitting down in a restaurant and sharing a meal with a friend. Sure, I could still "share a meal" with Pam or Eric, but that was a wholly different type of situation. Other than Gran's cooking, I didn't miss any particular foods, but I missed the experience of it all. There was a kind of friendly intimacy to it.

Pam wrapped up whatever it was she was doing; she and Eric were chatting while I just sort of tagged along, lost in my own thoughts.

As we were leaving the mall, headed towards Pam's minivan, Eric said, "Sookie, several boxes arrived at the club for you. I imagine they are the clothes that you ordered, unless you've been doing some other online shopping that I'm unaware of."

"Oh, thanks. I haven't ordered anything else, so those must be my new wardrobe," I said.

Pam chuckled. "Don't sound too excited, Sookie. We don't want you to hurt yourself over there."

I laughed. "No, it's just that I haven't figured out how I want to organize all of that stuff just yet."

"It's probably easiest to sort it out at Fangtasia, and any time we go to one of the houses where you don't have clothing, bring a box of it with you."

That wasn't really what I'd meant, but I went along with it. "Yeah, that makes sense. We could even get started tonight."

Pam wrinkled her nose. "Ugh. We're supposed to be off work tonight; I'm not setting foot in that place unless there's an orgasm involved. Which is a hint, by the way."

"Riiiiiiight," I drawled. "Sorry, can't help you there. Eric, you don't mind helping me with that tonight, do you?"

He smiled. "I'll help you with an orgasm any time you like, Sookie."

"I meant help me with my _clothes_, Eric." When I saw his mouth start to open again, I headed off his next retort with silly face. "You know darn well what I meant; you're just teasing me. But you didn't say no."

"Hmn. Neither did you."

Just because I could, I gave him a nice, big grin.

* * *

Pam drove off to do her own thing while Eric and I flew to Fangtasia. We were both teasing the hell out of each other, but no actual moves were being made.

He was determined to let me make the first move, and I was grateful for that. I hoped he didn't feel like I was stringing him along; while that may have been how it was all playing out, that wasn't my intent. I just didn't know what I wanted. I knew he was more than a little interested in having sex with me, but I wasn't sure if he wanted more than that. I knew I wanted more, but I didn't know if he could even give it to me.

I knew that the minute he and I had sex, things between us would be forever changed. Being vampires, forever was a _really_ long time.

When had I made the transition from wanting something romantic to wanting something that I could get away from, should I feel the need to do so? Even as a human, I'd known that my chances for a normal life were slim to none; now I'd never know if that were possible. There was even less chance of anything vaguely resembling normalcy for me, now that I was a vampire. As Jason would say: if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle; there was no way of knowing how things would have been different. One of these days, I supposed that would sink in.

Really, I just wanted to stop thinking about it, wanted it to stop being a regular issue in my life.

It had all gotten worse when Felix showed up. I couldn't explain why I was so strongly attracted to him. There was something about him that called out to me. Something that touched a place in me that no one had even known existed; it was a bizarre sensation, an awakening of some indiscernible part of me. Like a bear waking up from a long winter sleep, that side wanted to be sated; it wanted to feast on more of that connection.

Nothing in my life could ever be simple, could it?

Eric was flying slower than usual; we'd both gone silent, lost in our own thoughts. Or at the very least, he could tell that I was pondering something, and he was giving me some time to think. If that was the case, it was a nice gesture.

More likely, he was prolonging the flight so that he could have more time with our bodies pressed together.

When we arrived at the club, we went through the back entrance and straight into his office. There were several packages and boxes for me, just as he'd said. I hadn't realized just how much we'd ordered; this was insane. I was glad Eric was helping me: even with vampire strength, I couldn't imagine the logistics of carrying all of this stuff.

He sat down at his desk and fired up his laptop while I got down to the business of opening boxes, sorting clothes, and generally making a mess of things. Every now and again, I'd look up and catch him watching me. He never tried to hide it, never got flustered by being caught; he would just grin, sometimes wink, and then turn his attention back to whatever he was doing on his computer.

Finally, I had all of my new clothes organized into five roughly equal piles. I got four of those piles squared away until other nights, when I would take them to other houses. Once everything was straightened out, Eric helped me load one of the sets of clothes into the trunk of his car. We drove off to the three-bedroom house we'd rested in during the previous day; when we got there, he helped me again with carrying everything into what was now officially my room.

It felt nice to have my own room again. While I put all of my stuff away in the closet and dresser, Eric sat on my bed and told me about the conversation he'd had with Felix earlier in the evening.

I was surprised when he first mentioned the conversation; it seemed like something he should have mentioned earlier, but I could see why he would want to wait to talk about something like that. I'd long been aware that fairies existed, and I suppose I _should_ have been shocked to find out that Felix claimed I had been one – at least in part – when I was still human. I think I didn't really want to believe it, mostly because of the source. This sort of information should have come from my family, and was the sort of thing I should have been told years ago.

Whatever reaction Eric had been expecting me to have, I didn't give it to him. I think he thought I might be upset, or on the other side of the spectrum, inspired to make contact with my very _other_ relatives.

I had two families: Gran and Jason were the family from my human life; Pam and Eric were my vampire family. I didn't need a fairy family on top of all that. If they'd known about me all my life, and hadn't come forward, that meant they didn't want to be a part of my life; as such, I didn't have much interest in being a part of theirs.

When I was done putting away my new wardrobe, I flopped down on the bed and stretched out. Eric scooted closer and lay on his side, propping his head up with his hand.

"You've been quiet during all of this, Sookie. Tell me what you're thinking."

"What did you want me to say? Does it really matter what I was before I was turned?" I wanted him to say that it didn't matter: it might feel like one more thing I'd lost when I was turned. I didn't need that.

"It does if any of those fae attributes or abilities survived the transition; have you never wondered where your weather manipulation comes from?"

"Of course I have," I said with a frown. He'd always maintained that it wasn't a vampire trait. "But as you're always telling me: consider the source. Do you think Felix is being completely truthful?"

He smirked at me. "Normally I would consider that a rhetorical question; I know better than to think anyone is being completely honest in these types of situations. We're not currently in a position to prove him wrong, but he has yet to really provide any proof. All we have to go on are your reaction to fairy blood and your lack of reaction to the scent of fairy. The latter can be attributed to your odd sense of smell, and the former... well, it could be any number of things."

I would have shrugged, had I been sitting up. Instead, I crossed my legs at the ankles and folded my hands behind my head. "He wants something, that much is obvious. I just don't know what, or why."

"Do you come by your obliviousness naturally, or is it something you actively work at?" Eric asked.

"Pardon?"

"He wants _you_."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, I am not _that_ oblivious. I did happen to figure that out, thank you very much. I'm guessing he wants more than a romp in the sack."

He looked at me, and when he spoke next, his voice was quiet. "Wasn't that what you were looking for?"

Resisting the urge to fidget, I avoided looking back at him. I sighed. He was right in that I'd been hoping to find something with someone where what we had was more than just sex; now that the option might be presenting itself to me, I found myself simultaneously attracted and repelled. It didn't feel right; while I didn't think that feeling had anything to do with how Eric and Pam felt about Felix, I couldn't be certain.

I hadn't felt this emotionally scattered since I was turned.

I was drawn to Felix, but wasn't sure if I wanted him in that way. There was definite physical attraction, but I had no idea of whether or not we'd actually have any chemistry. Hell, I didn't even know if I would like spending time with him. I didn't _know_ him.

Then there was Eric. I definitely felt something for him; he cared for me, but I wasn't sure to what extent. Even when he was teasing me something fierce, I felt comfortable with him. As long as it was in his power to stop it, he would never let anyone hurt me, himself included. As scary as it felt, the idea of altering our relationship in a way that could easily go sour, _he _felt safe.

* * *

**Eric POV**

I watched a myriad of emotions play over Sookie's face. If I didn't already know that she would never have given such a display in public, I might have chided her for it. Since it was just the two of us, I wasn't going to discourage her from showing emotion with me. I could sense her quite well, but I liked having the visual confirmation: when her expressions matched up with what I felt coming through the bond, I knew that she was being honest with herself as well as with me.

If she hadn't been so obviously deep in thought, I would have asked her if she'd thought my last question was a rhetorical one. As tempting as it might be to tease her, I wanted her to give serious thought to the question.

"When we were growing up, Jason was such a picky eater."

I blinked. While I had been expecting any number of responses, that was not among them. Not by a long shot.

"Mmkay. Care to expand on that? Maybe tell me how it relates to the conversation we were having?"

She laughed. "Sorry, there was a point to that. So, Gran had a hell of a time getting Jason to try new foods. She would fix something, and he would immediately say he didn't like it. She would ask him, 'How do you know you don't like it? You haven't even tried it yet.' He would grumble and try a bit of it, and just as often as not, he wound up liking it."

She hadn't rendered me speechless; it was more that I needed a moment to collect myself. "What are you saying, Sookie?"

With a smile, she shifted so that she was laying on her side, mirroring the position that I was lying in. She leaned in closer and whispered against my lips, "I was hoping to not say anything, for a while."

I felt her hand rest on my waist as she brushed her lips against mine.

We had kissed before; our first kiss had been when I'd tested whether or not I could compel her. More recently, she had given me a somewhat chaste peck. There had been other kisses in between those two, but she had only ever felt them as something friendly – nothing more.

There was no mistaking the meaning behind this kiss. Slowly, it deepened; I needed to know how far she was willing to take this before I went for what I wanted. When I felt her hand slide around to my back, exerting the slightest amount of pressure, I had my answer.

I wanted to devour her. Taste every inch of her skin, then go back for more. I leaned into the kiss, guiding her into lying on her back so that I could cover her with my body. I had needed to feel her under me, and it was finally happening.

Call it heaven, call it Valhalla, call it Nirvana or bliss; in that moment I called it _Sookie_. Her arms were wrapped around my neck as I nestled in the cradle of her thighs. Our bodies moved as if they had always known each other. As if by magic, our clothes vanished in bits and pieces. When I kissed my way down her curves, I wondered if it were possible for her to be any sweeter. With my head between her thighs, I found my answer.

I found what I hadn't even realized I'd been looking for. There was a heat between us that I couldn't explain, an actual warmth, the likes of which I hadn't felt before.

At no point did I sense any hesitation from her: only anticipation, tinged with a hint of relief.

When she came for me, it was the most exquisite thing I had ever seen. Eager to be inside her, I crawled up her body while she was still shaking. She moaned at the taste of herself in our next kiss, breaking it off with a sharp inhale as I began to enter her.

I stopped immediately. "Are you all right?"

"Don't stop, _please_ don't stop."

With a groan, I buried my head in her hair and slid the rest of the way in. She was so unbelievably tight around me; I kept my initial movements short and slow, to ease her into the motion.

Sookie wound her hands in my hair, pulling my head back up so that she could kiss me. When her hips started moving with mine, I let my body's desire take over. One of her hands found its way to my lower back, urging me to take her harder, faster.

All of my senses were overwhelmed: the feel of her body against mine; her sweet taste, almost as addictive as her blood; her unique scent, which permeated the air around us; the sight and sound of her falling apart as she began to climax again. I was lost in _her_. This wasn't _sex_: this was something else entirely.

As she came, she lifted her head and pressed her lips to my neck. With one of my hands grasping the hair at the back of her head, I silently encouraged her to take what she wanted. The sharp sting of her fangs at my throat was enough to take me over the edge with her. I couldn't stop myself from sinking my own teeth into her neck.

Time seemed to stop in that moment. Our shared drinking, our orgasms: they seemed to go on forever. I hadn't ever felt such a connection to a single person. I never wanted to leave the shelter of her body.

We pulled back simultaneously, but reluctantly. I began to lift myself off of her, concerned that I was too heavy, but she instantly placed her hands against my back to keep me there. I let my forehead rest against hers and closed my eyes, enjoying the aftershocks.

"Now that you've tried it," I murmured, "What do you think?"

At the feel of her hands leaving my back to cup my face, I opened my eyes and looked into hers. Such a heady mix of emotions flowed through our bond, I took an involuntary breath.

Sookie took me by surprise when she rolled us over and sat up with me still inside of her. I was instantly ready to go again at the sight of her.

"I want more," she whispered, her eyes flashing golden as she began to move on top of me.

I groaned happily. "Dawn won't be here for another few hours."

Her hands reached for mine and guided them to her breasts. "Perfect," she breathed.

My thoughts exactly.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris (except Felix, he's _all_ mine). I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: I got so wrapped up in a new story that I started ("Destiny Calling," which is loads of fun to write, and I've been told it's just as much fun to read), I completely forgot that this chapter was almost finished and ready to post! Silly me. Sorry for the delay. I don't have the next chapter started yet, and due to some RL angsty-stress, it may be a while before I'm eager to work on anything too serious. I did what I could to leave this chapter at a decent stopping point, just in case.

Also! **Mavrosal** made a totally sweet banner for this story! It's uploaded on my WordPress blog (sophiemyst dot wordpress dot com), but here's another link for it: yfrog dot com / h0mfnmnj

* * *

**Sookie POV**

When I rose the next night, I kept my eyes closed and listened to the sounds around me; it was something I did every now and then. With one exception, anyone watching would think I was still out cold; Eric always knew, but Pam generally couldn't tell. I'd used that little trick to catch the tail end of one or two of their conversations. He'd told me it wasn't a bad way to wake: if there were any humans around, they would be fooled long enough to give me an advantage.

I felt something against my back and another something draped around my waist; the scent in my nose told me it was Eric. I wasn't surprised to find him still in bed with me when I woke up; if he had his druthers, we wouldn't be getting out of bed at all tonight. Unfortunately, there was enough going on around us that we probably couldn't afford to take another night off.

Opening my eyes, I initially started to frown: this wasn't my room. I failed to remember how, during last night's activities, we'd managed to get here. Granted, we'd made something of a mess of my room, so he may well have carried me here after I'd gone under for the day.

Even though his body was perfectly still, it was a given that Eric was awake. Aside from dying for the day, vampires didn't do much in the way of sleeping. We could put ourselves into a mild trance-like state that I found restful, but even in that condition we were more aware of our surroundings than most humans were when they were fully awake.

Grinning impishly, I tried to roll away from Eric. Just as I'd thought would be the case, his seemingly casual hold on me was anything but: I could barely move an inch.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, his voice coming from mere inches from behind my head.

"Nowhere, looks like." I scooted back, pressing my body even closer to his. When he made a noise somewhere between a growl and a purr, I couldn't help but shiver. Last night he'd been delighted to find out exactly what kind of effect those types of noises had on me.

If I'd been human, there was no way I'd be able to walk upright this evening; not after the way he and I had spent the last few hours before dawn. Thank goodness for vampire strength and healing; I wasn't even sore. If he wanted to stay in bed another hour or four, he wouldn't get any objections from me. However, since his hands weren't moving, I figured we were either getting up soon or he wanted to talk about something.

There wasn't any huge mystery over what he might want to talk about. I knew he'd been surprised by my sudden willingness to give in to him last night, but it wasn't like he was going to stop so that we could discuss it then and there. In some ways, it _was_ a spur of the moment decision on my part. It would be a lie to say that I hadn't wanted to have sex with him before, but I hadn't planned on it happening. If it had been something I planned, I would have wound up getting myself way too worked up about it.

At least part of my decision was that we'd been alone in the house. Had Pam been there, I'd have felt awkward, like we were ignoring or excluding her. She'd still know about it the minute she saw us: I already knew that much. Pam was sharp as a tack when it came to reading our body language, and she'd probably be able to smell it – something I didn't want to give much thought to.

I was concerned as to how this would change our little family's interactions. They were both fond of telling me that "change is the only constant," but this had the potential to be the most drastic change I'd experienced since being turned. The consequences would be long-term; of that, I had no doubts.

I just wanted them to be _happy_ consequences.

Behind me, Eric shifted slightly. "I can feel you pondering something, Sookie. You're not having evening-after regrets, are you?"

I thought about that briefly before answering. "No. Just wondering how things will be different now."

"Do you want things to be different?"

It felt like we were ramping up to a game of _you-first-no-you-first_. I didn't know if I had the courage to answer him, and wasn't sure I wanted to hear the answer he'd give if I had been the one to ask.

"What was that language you were speaking last night?" I asked, in a completely shameless attempt to change the subject. "I didn't recognize it at all."

I felt him roll over behind me, so he was lying on his back. I turned around and curled up against him, resting my head on his shoulder. He let out a frustrated sigh, but answered me anyway.

"You wouldn't. It's the language I spoke during my life as a human. No one really speaks it anymore."

"So you didn't grow up speaking Swedish?"

"No, _that_ was the only language Pam seemed able to learn. Her accent is still horrible."

"I think she does that just to mess with you."

"Are you being evasive for similar reasons?" he asked.

I sat up enough to look at him. He looked hurt; I cringed and shook my head. He pulled me back down and curled an arm around my shoulders.

"We're not leaving this room until we talk about it, Sookie."

I scowled, feeling frustration and anger building up inside of me. "That's not fair."

"Didn't your maker ever tell you life wasn't fair? I'm fairly certain he has. Recently, even."

"How could we possibly have any sort of relationship, if you can just order me around like that?"

He was silent for a moment. "Tell me where I can find another thousand-year old vampire with whom I might have an exactly equal relationship." His voice was quiet, but there was an underlying bitterness to his words.

The more I thought about that, the more it stumped me. A profound loneliness filtered through our bond: something I'd never felt from him before. Not on that level. And here I was, whining about unfairness like a brat. His intention had been to make a point, not to make me feel bad; his hand gently rubbed my back in an attempt to comfort me.

"What if things go bad between us?" I asked quietly.

"What makes you think they would? We've fought before; no doubt we'll do it again. How we handle our differences is a choice, each and every time."

So far, neither of us had outright stated what we wanted. It was the proverbial elephant in the room. If I was being truly honest with myself, I knew I had feelings for Eric.

"Where do we go from here?" I asked.

"You tell me, Sookie. Between the two of us, I'm not the one who doesn't know what he wants."

"And you're not telling me because why?"

"Because I don't want you mistaking it for an order or command. I know you. If I say what I want to happen, you'll throw it back at me in your moments of frustration and anger."

If he was going to let me be the one to make that decision, maybe something more between us could actually work out. All this time, I'd known he wasn't going to push me for sex because he felt strongly against non-consensual sex. He'd never forced anyone, and never would. The idea that he wouldn't try to manipulate or pressure me into a more intimate relationship than what we already had... it was comforting.

Hell, if anything, that was going to do more to convince me than anything he could do in bed.

And, as I'd found out last night, he was quite skilled in _that_ department.

I rolled and shifted positions so that I was straddling his waist. Hope and lust flared at me from behind his eyes, and I realized that he didn't need to tell me what he wanted. I could feel it rolling off of him in waves, now. He wanted parts of me that could never be taken, parts that weren't physical. His hands rested on the tops of my thighs, but he was holding me in place rather than pushing me further down his body: he didn't want me distracting us from the discussion.

"You know, I've never had a serious relationship before. I'd have no idea what I'm doing."

He smiled, looking more than a little relieved. "I'm a bit out of practice, myself. Some of it we'll have to figure out together, but when have I ever refused to help you learn something new?"

With a grin, I asked, "What would you like to show me first?"

Quick as lightning, he rolled us over so that he was on top of me. I let out a startled giggle, which seemed to bring an wicked gleam to his eyes.

"For starters," he said, sliding down my body, "I think I'll demonstrate one of the many things I'd prefer to spend the rest of the night doing."

Over the next hour, he gave me a lot to think about, and even more to look forward to.

* * *

How we even made it to the car, I'll never know; neither of us could keep our hands to ourselves. We couldn't stay holed up any longer, no matter how much we might want to remain locked up in one of our bedrooms. Our lives would always be busy, but we had more time than I could fathom. Before pulling out of the garage, Eric sent Pam a quick text to let her know we were on our way to the club.

"Think she'll freak out on us?" I asked.

He smirked. "She's more likely to throw a parade, at this point."

Oh, hell. She probably would, too. I didn't even want to know what the floats for _that_ would look like.

Pam was at the door, as usual. Seeing us pull into the lot, she raised an eyebrow in our direction and disappeared into the building, leaving a startled fangbanger standing at the door.

By the time we got out of the car, she was standing at the back door, holding it open for us. Her arms were folded over her chest.

"Finally. About damn time you two..." she paused and sniffed the air. The expression on her face was one of disbelief. "What the fuck are you doing _here?_"

I was asking myself the same question. Eric laughed. "The door to my office has a lock."

Pam glared at him. "Eric, I think I might actually hate you right now."

"And here you thought she'd be pleased," I said, poking Eric in the ribs as we walked inside.

Once we reached his office door, he pulled me into a deep kiss. Afterward, he gave me a light swat on my behind. "Go sit out front? I'll never get any work done if you're in here with me."

I didn't get a say in the matter: Pam grinned wickedly, grabbed my arm, and dragged me off to our booth. After I sat down, she plunked down next to me, blocking me in.

"You're not going anywhere until you spill."

Flustered, I waited to say anything until after the waitress left; she'd brought us some bottled bloods and gone back to the bar.

"First off, you're not really mad at us, are you?" I asked.

She laughed. "Aside from being mildly jealous that Eric got into your pants when I didn't? No. I'm already over it. I'll probably give him some hell about it for a while, though."

I let out a sigh of relief. There was already too much going on; I didn't want Pam upset with us along with everything else.

"Talk, woman." Pam squinted at me.

"Um. What do you want me to say?"

She rolled her eyes. "Bloody hell. If it wasn't so visually obvious, I would seriously doubt whether or not you were female. Tell me _everything_. What got you to change your mind?"

Uncertain how to put it into words, I bit my lip. "It was just something I decided on my own, I guess. I didn't plan it or anything, it just kind of _happened_."

"Wow, Sookie. You really suck at sharing." She pouted. "You grew up with Jason and your Gran, and yet you still don't know how to gossip?"

"What?" I asked indignantly. "It's true: it was a totally spontaneous thing. And it's not gossip when you're talking about yourself. That's different."

Remembering something odd from last night, I interrupted her before she could even start speaking. "Hey, I have a question."

"I have an answer. Let's see if they match."

I leaned in closer and whispered low enough that none of the other vampires in the bar would be able to pick it up; the only ones here tonight were younger than Pam. "When vampires have sex, they don't get warm, do they?"

Startled, she pulled back and stared at me. "No," she responded, keeping her voice as quiet as mine. "And don't bring that up again, not here. Fuck, Sookie, you should know better than to ask me that kind of weird question in public."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "How was I supposed to know? It's not like there's a handbook for this kind of thing."

To my surprise, she laughed. "All right, don't get your knickers knotted. But didn't I tell you he was good?"

"Okay, talk about weird questions..."

She sighed. "I forget how young you are, sometimes. You'll loosen up after a decade or two. Speaking of, if you ever decide you two..."

Knowing by her tone what she was going to say, I cut her off. "Because Eric is _so_ good at sharing, right?"

Even thinking about what it was Eric and I wouldn't be sharing with Pam made me tingly. He must have sensed it, and the resulting swell of lust through our bond would have knocked me over if I'd been standing up. I wondered if he'd been able to get any work done, and was trying to resist the temptation to go find out.

We might not be able to communicate telepathically, but sometimes the bond worked just as well. Whether or not he'd felt my curiosity and hesitation, I could feel him starting to pull at me. When I shivered, Pam shot me a knowing look and scooted out of the booth so that I could stand up.

I deliberately ignored the way she smirked at me as I walked back towards Eric's office. The door opened before I could even knock, and without any warning, he was pulling me into the room, into his embrace.

I found myself pushed up against the door before I even heard it close. The last coherent thought to run through my brain, before he obliterated it with a searing kiss, was that I could definitely get used to this.

* * *

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris (except Felix, he's _all_ mine). I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.


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